The Maid and the Bodyguard
by Just Dyana
Summary: Inuyasha is princess Kikyo's bodyguard, but one day, he fails to his duty and the princess is abducted. Kagome is a maidservant who works in the castle, and who has had an interest in Inuyasha for a long time. They are sent together to retrieve the Princess. On their way there, things may become a lot more complicated than they had anticipated. AU, Inukag.
1. Chapter 1

_This is set in a fictitious version of Japan, during the Feudal Era. I do not own Inuyasha._

* * *

One

It was the scream that woke Kagome up, along with the entire castle. One moment she was sleeping soundly, the next she was jolting up, startled. She met the lost and confused eyes of Eri. By the time she got out of bed, Ayumi and Yuka were also standing, all looking worried. The scream just wasn't stopping. It was loud, high-pitched, and the more it went on, the more unpleasant it became. Without a word, the four maids slipped into their clothing and looked out in the corridor. They were far from being the only ones. In addition to the servants trying to see what was happening, many soldiers were running, all in the same direction.

"Hojo!" Kagome called as she recognized one of them.

The young, brown-haired man turned toward her and gave her a nod as a form of salutation. He wasn't smiling like he always did when he saw her.

"Hojo, what's…"

"It's the princess!" he simply answered before running away.

Kagome and the other girls exchanged glances. They still had no idea what was happening, but there was no doubt it was terrible.

The scream stopped abruptly, and the silence that followed was deafening. It sent a shiver down Kagome's spine, and she rubbed her arms, trying to gain some warmth from the friction. She felt the first rays of the sun on her body. Dawn was just breaking.

The shivers had nothing to do with cold.

* * *

They didn't get any news before noon. After the event in the morning, maids and servants had been sent to do the work they always did. Whispers were exchanged, despite supervisors doing their best to hush any form of gossip.

Yuka soon managed to find out that Nazuna, the princess' personal housemaid, was missing. She told Eri, who told Ayumi, who told Kagome. The black-haired young woman tried to process the information, but there was nothing she could make out of this. She knew Yuka was probably expecting her conclusions, her theories, which she usually pulled out of her prolific imagination, but today, nothing came to her.

In the afternoon, though, all servants and housemaids were called, one by one, for a meeting with the captain of the guards. The common room was slowly emptying, and no one was returning. Ayumi was the first to go in, and there were tears in the young girl's eyes when she left. She was terrified. She had no idea what was happening, but she needed this job. She couldn't lose it. She couldn't. All her friends could do was quickly squeeze her hand before she was escorted out by a soldier.

Next was Eri. She stood straight when she was called, refusing to take the guard's hand, and she held her head up when she walked out. There was a crack in her mask at the last second, and she cast a desperate look in her friends' direction.

Kagome and Yuka remained silent while they waited for their turn.

"Still no idea what's happening?" Yuka whispered.

Gears were turning in Kagome's head, but there was nothing she could come up with.

Well. Nothing reasonable, at least. Nothing _possible_. With the level of precautions that were taken and the morning's commotion, something was starting to emerge in her fertile mind but… No. Not here. Not with the security that was guaranteed inside the castle. Not with the princess' personal…

"Kagome," a stern voice called.

She quickly stood up, and Yuka gave her a nod as a form of comfort. Kagome took a deep breath and slowly followed the man who was standing in front of her. Sadly, it wasn't Hojo. She was sure the boy would have been nice to her, and possibly would even have told her what exactly was happening. Instead, though, she was rather roughly dragged down the corridor and practically thrown into a small room.

She sent an outraged look at the now closed door, but didn't say anything, keeping her teeth firmly clenched. She was used to this treatment by now. Most soldiers didn't care for you, didn't show any form of sympathy unless you were royalty — nobility at the very least. Hojo was truly an exception. She turned to look at the people in the room, unable to help her curiosity, and instantly understood her mistake when she saw the man who was sitting there, watching her with cold eyes.

She threw herself on her knees, bowing deeply in front of master Ungai. She started to mumble an apology, but he dismissed it, clearly annoyed.

"We do not have time for that, hurry now, girl. You are—"

"It ain't her," a voice spat from another point in the room.

Kagome knew she shouldn't look up. She knew it. She knew this was against the etiquette, and that as a maid, she had no right to even look at people who were that much above her rank. Despite that, though, she risked a quick glance in that direction. All she saw were shining, golden orbs and threads of silver hair in the darkness of the room's corner. She didn't need any more, so she fixated her eyes on the ground again, silently cursing the blood she could tell was rushing to her cheeks.

Master Ungai clicked his tongue with annoyance and turned towards the man.

"Let me conduct my investigation, _half-breed_. You requested that I let you here and I obliged, on Lady Kaede's order, but we wouldn't be here if you hadn't miserably failed in your duty."

The man visibly flinched at that — not that Kagome saw it, because she _shouldn't_ have been looking at him, and she certainly shouldn't be stealing short, discreet glances at him.

"Keh. Think you'd have done better?" Despite his mockery, it was obvious in his tone that the older man's harsh remark had gotten to him. There was guilt, possibly even sadness in his voice.

 _What's going on?_

"I know _I_ would have died before I let anything happen to the princess," Ungai answered through gritted teeth. "Now stay silent. I will not trust you any longer and I need to—"

"I told you, that girl has nothing to do with it," the man in the corner snapped. "I didn't smell her, and I don't think I smelled anything familiar. This is a waste of time. We should be out looking for Kikyo by now and…"

"Don't you _dare_ disrespecting her like that ever again!" the man shouted, his face turning red with anger and his head violently turning towards him. "You have no right to even _pronounce_ her name! Someone as low as you should feel _grateful_ for even breathing the same air as her."

With those words, the man's shoulders sagged, and the pointy, white ears on his head flattened. Once again, of course, Kagome definitely didn't see any of that.

Master Ungai turned to face her once again, muttering under his breath that 'he didn't know what the princess, bless her kind heart, was thinking when she had taken _this_ into the castle'. His eyes focused on the girl, whose posture was impeccable and whose eyes were on the floor, where they should be until he gave her an authorization to do otherwise.

"Please sit, girl," he said roughly. "I have questions for you."

* * *

The rest of the interrogation turned out to be very boring, and the man in the corner didn't speak again. Kagome felt relieved when she was allowed to get out. She was sent to the room where public hearings were held, and she immediately fell into Ayumi and Eri's arms.

"Are you okay?" Eri asked, her voice's pitch slightly higher than usual. "They weren't rude to you, were they?"

"It was fine," Kagome confirmed, even though her legs were still trembling slightly. "Just wanted to know where I was last night and if I had given anyone informations about the princess."

"Us too," Eri said. "I mean how could we? We never even saw the princess to begin with!"

"I guess we could have described the castle though," Kagome said slowly. "None of you talked about that to anyone, did you?"

Both shook their head, and Eri laughed joylessly.

"I haven't stepped foot out of the castle for more than a year, same for Ayumi, and it will be the same for Yuka. You arrived more recently, Kagome, but you didn't get out since then either. We didn't have the opportunity to do that, even if we wanted to."

It was true, although Kagome did wince at her friend's words. She didn't really need another reminder of how long it had been since she had last seen her family. She missed them more than enough without that.

"Did you see who was there too?" Eri added, lowering her voice. "The princess's bodyguard, the _half-demon_."

Her tone was excited, but Kagome only felt annoyance in regards to her attitude. She had discovered, mostly after arriving at the castle, that the education she had received from her mother, when it came to demons, was… unusual, to say the least. To everyone else, they were mindless, bloodthirsty monsters. Her mother had always talked about them as people, and that had become Kagome's mindset as well.

That was why, when she had first met the silver-haired man, her thoughts had stopped at how cute his ears looked. It was only later that she had realized how despised he was by everyone, simply for being what he was.

A half-demon.

She rarely saw him, but she at least learned his name rather quickly: Inuyasha. He was always by the princess' side, and she didn't work in that aisle of the castle. Still, it was hard not to notice him. Not only because of his peculiar appearance, but because… Well, he was a fine specimen. Tall, muscular, and _very_ handsome.

She had been ashamed of her thoughts at first, before realizing that not only would no one ever know about them, but he would probably never find out either. She didn't hurt anyone by having a harmless crush on anyone. Even if he did find out, she had thought bitterly, he was probably in love with the princess. Some people cruelly mocked him for that, but Kagome thought it to be touching. She knew the princess had saved his life when he was just a child, and had kept him by her side since then, ignoring the criticism and the rumors.

There was no way Kagome could rival that, and she knew it. So she allowed herself to daydream about the man when her chores were too boring, and she kept her distances. She sometimes heard the other girls talking about him and giggling. He was an object of desire, and they seemed to fantasize about him as a strong, violent demon, reducing him to his race, which Kagome couldn't say she enjoyed seeing. She had wondered if she was the same, before deciding that it wasn't the case. Her interest in him had nothing to do with him being a half-demon, and she wasn't fetichizing him.

She realized she had been lost in her thoughts when Yuka appeared in front of her. She checked on her like Ayumi and Eri had done for her. Apparently, she had been a bit scared by master Ungai, but it had gone just fine in the end. Like the others, she hadn't had any opportunity to give away confidential informations on the castle.

They settled down, understanding that they would probably still be here for hours. They were far from having interrogated every workers. The girls vaguely joked about having a day off, but they couldn't shake the heavy atmosphere in the castle. They could feel it, creeping everywhere.

It did take hours before master Ungai was done. Once the interrogations were over, the room was packed. The four girls had to be standing, and even like that, there was barely room to breathe.

"How long are they going to keep us here?" Yuka protested. "They'd better not take a day off of our pay for that."

Kagome agreed whole-heartedly. No one here could afford having less money to send back to their family.

But then, the Queen came in, and the room went completely silent.

It was even rarer to see the Queen than the Princess. The elderly woman mostly stayed in her aisle of the castle, rarely coming out. The tragedy that had struck the royal family was said to have been particularly hard for her. After her husband's death, her son and his wife had started to reign on the country. They had, however, been murdered by demons, leaving their orphaned daughter, the Princess, behind them. The Queen had had no choice but to govern the kingdom again. She was said to be weak, but that was not what Kagome saw that day.

Yes, the Queen Kaede had a stoop, she was using a stick to stand straight, but she radiated strength and power. Her unique eye glared at the crowd who was looking up to her, speechless.

"As I am sure you all understood by now," she started slowly, "something happened to my granddaughter, princess Kikyou. She was abducted."

A rumor rumbled through the crowd, but with one glance she had them all silent again "You were all interrogated, and according to master Ungai, you were all telling the truth. None of you will be held responsible for the Princess disappearance." She waited a few seconds as relief washed over all the people reunited here. "I'm sure you can all understand, though, that this must not leave those walls. If we ever find out that you are responsible for spreading a rumor, you will be punished by death."

This time, her words were only met by silence, as fear spread through the assembly. Scared looks were exchanged, but no one spoke. It wasn't as if they could go against the Queen, but this was not good news. Of course this would end up being known outside the castle, and that would mean that head would fall then. The Queen waited until she felt her words had been understood before nodding.

"I thank you all for your help. You may return to your rooms for the night."

At her words, it was pretty obvious that they were all dismissed. Kagome walked slower than she needed to, unable to look away from the Queen. Inuyasha had joined her, and he was talking to her heatedly. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but he kept getting angrier and angrier, while the Queen remained stoic.

She teared herself away from the sight. There was no use in paying too much attention to it all. She would never so much as talk to Inuyasha. She would play no part in the game of power, would never get to catch more than a glimpse of their lives.

Oh, how wrong she was…

* * *

 _There, first chapter's out. This will probably not be a very long story, but I've been thinking about it for a while now and I really wanted to write it. I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review if you did, it would mean the world to me. I'll see you soon,_

 _Dya._


	2. Chapter 2

Two

Kagome was a curious person. She knew it was bad. Well, not _inherently_ bad, but it was definitely not something a good housemaid was supposed to be. Still, she just couldn't help it, even if sometimes it dragged her in rather uncomfortable situations. Maybe it was because, unlike most people here, she had been pushed to develop that curiosity. Her mother had made sure she learnt how to read and write, and as a result, Kagome had taught herself as much as she could through that. It wasn't much, because they couldn't afford teachers or books, but it was still very unusual for someone without a rank.

That was before her grandfather's death, though. After that, her family had lost all income. They were modest before that, only relying on what the priest could gather, but there was a significant difference between modest and starving. This was why Kagome had left when she had been given the offer to work at the castle. At least, that way, they would survive until Sota could start working. He was barely eight when she had left.

She had received a letter from her mother telling her about how him turning nine and their life since she had left, and she preciously kept it hidden in her room.

The safety of which she was currently leaving, after curfew, despite Ayumi's frantic recommendations not to.

With a quick look to both her left and then her right, she decided that things looked fine. She crossed the hallway running, her bare feet allowing her to be almost completely silent. She soon reached the room towards which she was heading and softly knocked against it. It slid open almost immediately, revealing a disheveled Nazuna. The girl had clearly been crying.

"Yes, what— Kagome?" Nazuna grabbed her arm and pulled her in the room, in which she stayed alone. Being the princess' personal maid had its advantages. They both sat on the floor, on Nazuna's mattress.

"I just wanted to check on you," Kagome explained, carefully keeping her voice low. "We didn't see you all day, and with what happened to the princess, we feared you were…" She didn't need to finish this sentence. Nazuna visibly shivered, like Kagome had done in the morning.

"It's nice of you," Nazuna commented. Kagome smiled. The other girl was more isolated due to her job, but they still knew each other enough for her to appreciate the gesture. "I'm… fine. I guess. I just…" She sighed and shook her head.

"It's alright," Kagome said gently, putting her arms around her. "You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to."

"But I _want_ to," Nazuna answered with a sob. "I can't keep it all to myself, I feel like it's driving me crazy. It's just, master Ungai, he said that if I ever talked about it he'd—" She hiccuped and pressed her hand against her mouth.

Kagome couldn't help the sudden anger that flowed through her veins. It was easy to guess that that… That _awful_ man had threatened the traumatized girl. It made her want to scream. How _dared_ they? Why was it that all these people considered their lives to be so completely worthless, just because they were born in the wrong place?

Why was there nothing she could do about it?

"It's alright," she whispered. "If you want to talk, I promise I won't tell anyone. If you don't, I can stay here a bit longer if you wish for my company."

Nazuna looked at her for a few seconds, before nodding. She didn't know why, but she wanted to trust Kagome. She had no reason not to. She knew that the girl was nice. After all, Kagome, being one of the only servants who could write and read, had helped her before writing to her dad and had read her his answers, written by the local priest.

"I was the one who… found it."

Kagome nodded, indicating her she was listening. So it was her scream that they had heard in the morning?

"There were p-pieces of bodies, and blood, _everywhere_ ," Nazuna cried. "And Inuyasha, he was lying on the ground."

That did surprise Kagome, although she tried her best not to show it. He had looked fine in the interrogation room. Surely, it couldn't have been all his blood. Nazuna was too focused on her memories to notice her confusion.

"Everything in the room had been destroyed, and the Princess, she was nowhere to be found. I remember screaming, and then I think I fainted. I woke up in the infirmary. Inuyasha was there too, but he was already awake and yelling at master Ungai." She shook her head. "It's just… I thought the princess was _dead_ , Kagome."

"So it was Inuyasha's blood then?" Kagome asked, trying not to show too much interest. She didn't need anyone finding out about her stupid crush on the man.

At that, Nazuna simply shrugged. "I guess so. He's a half-demon after all, he would probably survive that." The disdain in her tone made Kagome stiffen, but there was nothing she could say. It was no good, showing sympathy for demons.

"Will you be fine?" she asked softly instead. "I can stay here until morning if you want me to."

But Nazuna shook her head, and wiped her cheeks, as if that would magically make her feel better. "I'll be fine, Kagome, don't worry. Plus, we'll both be in trouble if we're found out." She squeezed her hand. "Thank you for listening."

"Anytime," Kagome answered warmly. "Let me know if you want to write to your family again, okay?"

Nazuna nodded, and soon, Kagome was out in the hallway, running back towards her room. Just as she was going to slip in, a voice behind her made her freeze.

"Stop! Who are you and what are you— Kagome, is that you _again_?"

The girl cursed under her breath and then turned to give Hojo a smile that managed to be both sheepish and innocent. He had surprised her. She usually could tell when someone was behind her, but apparently, he was too far to be on her radar.

"Sorry, Hojo. I just wanted to check on Nazuna," she said while he walked towards her. To his confused look, she explained: "The princess' maid, the one who found the room this morning."

With another guard, she would have been in deep trouble. But Hojo was not only a nice guy, he was used to that type of stuff coming from her. Kagome would argue that it was definitely not her fault, of course. She couldn't help it, or she just _had_ to be out that late! And he would always let her off with a mere remark.

"Oh," he simply said, nodding. "Well then, just hurry up inside before someone—"

"What the _hell_ 's going on here?" A voice barked.

Startled, both of them turned towards the place where it came from, Hojo reaching for his sword and protectively stepping in front of Kagome.

Standing there was Inuyasha, and Kagome held her breath. It was the first time she saw him from so close, and it wasn't exactly the best situation. He snorted at Hojo's move, obviously amused by the mere thought of the human man _trying_ to fight with him, then reported his golden eyes on her. She felt her pulse rushing and hoped she wasn't blushing too much, but he didn't look at her for long. It was rather dark, with only one torch burning on the wall, and he visibly didn't really care for her.

"Any explanation, soldier?" he asked roughly.

Hojo straightened up. Like many men here, he didn't like being ordered around by a half-demon, but he accepted it out of respect for the princess.

"I was just escorting Miss Kagome back to her room because she was delayed tonight," Hojo explained. Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha missed the fact that he didn't add any honorifics, but Inuyasha didn't say anything, although Kagome couldn't help but notice how his ears drooped almost imperceptibly.

"Then what are you waiting for?" he barked. "What d'ya think this is gonna look like on a night like this?"

He stormed past them, leaving behind a surprised Kagome and an angry Hojo.

"Who the hell does he think he is?" he muttered. "If it wasn't for princess Kikyo's kind heart, he wouldn't even be _alive_."

"But he is, and he was protecting her," Kagome said dryly. Hojo looked down to her, blinking. He hadn't expected the lovely Kagome to retort anything to him.

"Oh how sweet you are," he said, smiling brightly. "It is just like you to want to defend everyone, Kagome. Now get in before anyone else comes by. I fear master Ungai wouldn't let you off like that."

Kagome nodded and managed to bring a smile to her lips when she answered "Sure, thank you, Hojo", before quickly getting into her room. Hojo stood there for a few more seconds, amused, and completely unaware of how annoyed she was.

As soon as she got in, her three roommates pretty much jumped on her, whispering heatedly to know what she had discovered.

"Would you calm down?" she finally protested. "I just checked on Nazuna, and she was fine!"

"Come on Kags," Yuka pleaded. "She must have told you _something_ , right?"

"Of course not! She risks her _job_ here, you know? With the princess gone, she probably doesn't even know whether or not they'll keep her!"

There were a few other whispers, but she just ignored them, and finally, the girls begrudgingly went back to their beds. Kagome did the same, happy to be able to lay down. She didn't give much thought to what had all happened. In her mind, there was no doubt that the princess would be found soon, and that everything would get back to how it all was before.

* * *

After that, a few days went by without any new events or informations. It wasn't like the domestics would have been told anything, but most of them could tell when there was a shift in the global atmosphere of the castle, and so far, there was simply nothing going on. Yes, globally, everyone was tense. The soldiers were particularly on edge, but the servants all remembered vividly the death threat that was above their heads, should anyone outside of the castle find out what was happening.

Kagome also kept an eye out for Inuyasha. She knew it was ridiculous, and the man certainly never seemed to notice her, but she just did. She saw him more during the week that followed the princess's disappearance than she had in the past eight months, since she had arrived here. He was always walking fast, seemingly ignoring the whispers he created on his way. Kagome had noticed that his ears were often twitching in the direction of the people talking though, so she wondered whether or not he actually heard it all.

The situation was probably particularly hard on him, she found herself thinking while tending to her chores. He was very attached to the princess, and he was the one who was supposed to be protecting her, so he must have been feeling awfully guilty about the kidnapping. Sometimes, she noticed him, jumping onto the walls around the gardens, and looking away. He never actually left, but she guessed he wanted to. Probably to go after the princess.

She wanted to talk to him more than once, but always felt intimidated. Everyone said he was agressive and rude, and so in the end, she didn't.

At least, until Hojo came to look for her. She was focused on washing sheets, and didn't notice him before he was right behind her. When he put his hand on her shoulder, though, she was aware of his presence, and could even guess it was him. She turned to look at him, worried. The other girls were focused on their work, but like Kagome, they had all mastered the art of watching without looking up.

"Hojo?" she asked. "What…"

"I need you to follow me, Kagome," he answered, his voice surprisingly formal. "You are awaited. If you could please come with me…"

He took a step, looking at her expectantly. Kagome knew she should just follow him, but she had no idea _why_ he wanted her to go with him.

"But my work?" she said, only trying to gain time to figure out what on _earth_ was going on.

Hojo simply shook his head. "It will be fine, Kagome. Now come, please."

She nodded shakily and started walking behind him. The only thing she could think of was the Queen's threat. But she hadn't said anything! What if she was accused of something she hadn't done? How would she get out of it? Oh God— If they learned she could read and write, it would make it much easier to accuse her, even though she was innocent.

It was with those thoughts in mind that Kagome was gently pushed in a room, in the Queen's part of the castle. It took her a second to understand that the Queen was _there._ The door slid close without her without a sound, and she moved to throw herself on her knees, but the Queen was quick to dismiss that.

"Please don't, child," she sighed, her voice tired. "Such formalities are not needed now. Is Inuyasha coming?" she asked, turning to master Ungai who was standing a step behind her.

"I sent for him," the man answered, immobile. "What do you think of her, my Queen?"

Kagome shot him a shocked glance. What did he mean by that? Why would the Queen know anything about her? She remained frozen as the Queen slowly towards her.

"Ye were quite right, Ungai," she commented, her one eye staring at Kagome. "Lean towards me, child," she ordered, "so that I can see you."

Kagome obeyed, vaguely noting the Queen's strong and oddly rural accent. She was pretty sure she had never heard it before. The Queen looked at her intensely, her pupil moving to take in the young woman's face, and finally nodded, apparently satisfied by what she was seeing.

"The resemblance truly is eerie."

"I noticed it instantly, my Queen," Ungai answered dejectedly, "and immediately thought it could be of use."

Kagome was _lost_. What resemblance? What use? What were they trying to do with her? In other circumstances, she would have assumed she was going to be sold in some underground market, but there was no way the Queen and the captain of the guards would do that… Right?

She didn't get much more time to think about it, because the door was suddenly opened and then closed in a violent movement.

"What d'ya want?" Inuyasha's angry voice growled.

Ungai took a step, his face morphing into a furious expression, but Kaede stopped him, simply by raising her hand.

"Inuyasha, I would like you to meet Kagome."

Kagome could only blink at the information that the _Queen_ knew her name, but then turned, bowing, towards Inuyasha, who didn't pay any attention to her.

"Yeah I know, I smelled her before, what the fuck do you want me to—"

" _Inuyasha_. Just look."

With an annoyed sigh, he did look at her. Her heart was beating like crazy in her chest, and she hoped she wasn't blushing too much. It was the first time ever they actually… Well… Saw each other. Or at least, the first time he ever acknowledged her existence. She had been imagining that moment more than once, but she had never expected the look of surprise on his face, and she had certainly not expected him to turn back to the Queen and ask, obviously distressed: "Is that supposed to be a _joke_? Who _is_ that?"

It would have been a lie if she said she hadn't felt hurt at how he vaguely gestured at her or how he addressed her. She felt herself shrinking back, trying to disappear. She knew she shouldn't have imagined this encounter so much. Reality was always less fun than what her mind put together.

"If it is a joke, tis destiny's," Kaede answered. "I had never met the girl before today. You must have seen her though, as Ungai mentioned you interrogated her together."

"I told ya, I _smelled_ her, I didn't _look_ at her. I didn't expect… Well, _this_."

Kagome was rather starting to lose her patience. They talked as if she wasn't even in the room, and it was really getting on her nerves. She knew better than to voice that, though, and she didn't open her mouth, patiently waiting for _someone_ to explain her what on earth was going on.

"Now listen, children," Kaede said, and Kagome's eyes widened when she realized that she was talking to both her and Inuyasha. "We received alarming news today. Ungai, would ye please tell them about the letter?"

"What letter?" Inuyasha immediately asked. "Did you get news from Kikyo and didn't tell—"

"I recall telling you not being so familiar with the princess," Ungai's voice rung out, making Inuyasha's ears flatten against his head like Kagome had seen before. "Remember, without her here, your status is… uncertain."

Inuyasha didn't answer anything, although he certainly looked like he wanted to.

"Good. The letter we received came from a demon named Naraku. He said to be the one who has taken _Princess_ Kikyo and—"

"Where is he?" Inuyasha hissed.

Kagome looked at him in surprise, confused by the low rumble she heard coming from him. Was he… Was he actually _growling_? He seemed furious enough to do so, but it was the first time she ever heard the sound.

"I would be faster if you stopped _interrupting_ me!" Ungai snapped. "He apparently comes from the lands of the North, which is where he took the Princess. He seems to have some demonic ability that allows him to be very fast. He says here that he wants a… ransom."

"Well let's give that to him!" Inuyasha immediately said, obviously angry. "The fuck did you need a reunion for?"

Such language in front of the Queen seemed unimaginable to Kagome, but no one seemed shocked, even though master Ungai's eyelid twitched dangerously, so she guessed it was pretty normal for Inuyasha.

"What he is asking for is Kikyo's hand, Inuyasha," the Queen answered with a tired voice. "He wants to become King of this country."

Inuyasha went completely stiff at those words. He froze, and his mouth gaped open. Kagome couldn't tell what was going through his mind, no matter how much she looked at him, although she could definitely take a guess.

"Wh— And is that— Are you—"

"I am _obviously_ not going to give my granddaughter away to some demon," Kaede answered, a spark of sympathy in her eye. "This is precisely why ye are both here."

Inuyasha frowned. _Both_? Who was the other one? Oh. Yeah. The girl. The one who looked so much like…

"Kagome," Kaede started. "I'm sure ye must be wondering why ye are here. What Ungai noticed, when he first saw ye, was how much ye look like my beloved Kikyo."

It was Kagome's turn to freeze. She didn't flinch, even when the Queen slowly moved her wrinkled hand to softly cup her cheek.

"We can't send men after this Naraku," Kaede explained. "People would understand that something happened in the castle, and we cannot have that happening. Other lords would take advantage of it. But we _can_ send Inuyasha." So far, it all made sense. "With you."

Kagome numbly heard Inuyasha's protests, which she really should have felt offended by, but they just didn't seem to register. What the Queen had just said… It was impossible. It was stupid. It made no sense whatsoever.

"Have you completely _lost your mind_?" Inuyasha was yelling. "Why would make me travel with that girl? What good's _she_ gonna do? I'll be much faster on my own, and I'll get Kikyo out of there and bring her back here! I don't need no—"

"What do ye think people will do when they will see a half-demon alone, walking through the country?" Kaede asked, interrupting him. "They will either try to kill ye or capture ye, or they will recognize ye and understand that ye are here for the princess. But with her… With her, they will probably assume that _she_ is the princess, and she is just traveling the lands. That way, ye will be safe, which means more chances to get Kikyo back here. Ye will be on yer own out there, Inuyasha. We cannot risk losing ye. Ye know Kikyo would not forgive me for that."

That was stupid, and no one in the room was missing it. He could die out there, and what would Kikyo say then? But the argument seemed to work on Inuyasha, and he nodded slowly.

"Kagome," Kaede continued, "if ye accept to do this, ye will be sent back to yer family with enough money to provide for them for the rest of their lives and yers." At those words, Kagome felt like she had stopped breathing. She hadn't really considered refusing, not if Kikyo's life was at stake, but this seemed like a miracle. _All_ she had to do was travel with Inuyasha basically pretending to be the princess?

"I-I will," she stuttered with several nods. "I— Yes. I will go."

She heard Inuyasha's scoff.

"She'll have to do a _lot_ better than that if she wants people to believe that she's _Kikyo_." His voice was full of deference. "We sure are lucky that there ain't any other demons here, 'cause that smell sure wouldn't have fooled them."

Kagome shot him a shocked look, and her lips moved before she could think. "Are you saying that I _smell_?" she asked. She instantly wanted to take back the words, certainly not wanting to anger the man she was going to travel with — and not wanting to anger that man in any way, dammit — but she just stared at him, refusing to apologize.

Inuyasha smirked mockingly. "Look at that, she can talk!"

She had never wanted to slap someone so much in her entire life. And she had an extremely annoying little brother.

"Kagome, go pack," Kaede ordered. "The two of ye will leave tomorrow at dawn. Ye are now dismissed. I still have instructions for Inuyasha."

Kagome gave a deep bow and walked out, thinking nothing of it. Inuyasha probably had specific informations that he needed, as to what to do once they'd reached that Naraku's place, that sort of things. For once in her life, she wasn't curious.

Maybe she should have been.

* * *

"Better get more convincin' than you were before," Inuyasha said as soon as Kagome was out. "Cause there ain't no way you're making me take her for _safety_. That can't be good for either of us."

Kaede nodded solemnly. "Ye are right, Inuyasha. I expect ye to get Kikyo to escape, or to make sure, at _whatever cost_ , that she comes out alive." Inuyasha's face darkened. She was asking him to kill for her. And the worst part was, she knew he would do it if Kikyo's safety was at risk. Fuck. He hated killing. "However, should ye not feel like this is a possibility…"

She paused, and Inuyasha could tell that she wasn't comfortable with whatever it was that she was thinking. She closed her eye, and Inuyasha waited for as long as he could before he lost her patience.

"What now?"

Kaede opened her eye and looked at him.

"I want ye to substitute Kagome with Kikyo."

Inuyasha blinked. This… felt wrong. He didn't know the girl, didn't really care for her, but this still didn't sound right.

"You sure?" he simply asked.

Kaede sighed, which didn't surprise him. If his conscience had a problem with that, there was no doubt hers was probably screaming at her right now. However, it was clear that the queen had made her decision.

"Yes. These lands need their Queen. Kikyo has many powers, and she will do a wonderful Queen, as soon as she'll get married. We cannot have a succession war, and the only way to make sure this doesn't happen, is by bringing her back here. Do ye understand, Inuyasha?"

He gulped down. He felt a weird lump in his throat. He wasn't used to the feeling of guilt, and it had haunted him way too much in the past week. He knew Kaede was right, probably, but the truth was, he didn't really care. All he cared about was Kikyo — or that was what he kept repeating himself. Made it easier not to get hurt at the rest of the world hating him. If people got hurt on his way to her, then it was what it took. He nodded.

"I'll do what's necessary. But demons may not be fooled very long."

Kaede seemed relieved at that.

"Very well then. We do not need long. We just need ye to bring Kikyo back. Ye will take her bow and arrow to her, and then she should be able to deal with the situation herself." There was a silence after that, during which she looked lost in her thoughts, before she blinked and glared at him. "Ye should go start packing now."

Inuyasha nodded, and that was the only salute she got before he left. Once he was outside, he grinned joylessly. Like she didn't know as well as he did that he had nothing to take with him…

"You did the right thing, my Queen," Ungai said in the now almost empty room.

"I know that is what my mind recommends," Kaede said, looking exhausted, "but I cannot get my heart to agree to it. I will pray for all those children to return safely."

She was convinced that this needed to be done, if the situation she had mentioned to Inuyasha was to occur.

She just would never forgive herself if it happened.

* * *

 _Hope you've enjoyed, I'm really unsure on how I split that chapter to be honest, the first part could have been with the first chapter or a chapter on its own, but ended up choosing to put it here. This is probably as long as chapters for this story are going to get, because I have fun writing them like that. On another note, I hope Kaede is okay in here, I can understand that this may seem unlike her and I really debated having Urasue being the Queen, but I picked Kaede because I think she would be able to make a decision for the greater good, even if she hated it. Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, it really means a lot! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!_

 _Dya._


	3. Chapter 3

Three

Inuyasha didn't dream. He never had. He wasn't sure whether it was a demon thing or if it was just him, but that was not something that happened. His nights were dark and empty.

Until Kikyo's disappearance, at least.

He didn't know why, but Kikyo being gone seemed to unleash hell in his head. The first time, he hadn't understood what was going on. He had spent the entire day interrogating the servants with Ungai, and once that was done, he had started looking for Kikyo, trying to pick up her scent and finding absolutely nothing, which had to mean that her kidnappers had left by flying, a possibility for demons. He had been up most of the night, hoping to find something — _anything_ — and he had probably fallen asleep in a tree near Kikyo's room, like he often did when… Well, when things were normal.

* * *

 _An unusual smell woke him up, and before he even realized what was happening, he had jumped from his branch straight through Kikyo's window, which she didn't close until winter was there. She ignored him when he mentioned how it could be dangerous. He was right there, after all. What did he think would happen?_

 _He wouldn't have said it, but it made him proud, that she trusted him like this. Not the other soldiers, not even that asshole of Ungai. Him._

 _He was surprised not to have noticed that smell before, but he didn't have time to linger on that. Inside the room, the situation didn't exactly look good. There was a group of people there, including a man with long, wavy black hair who had his hand against Kikyo's mouth. He turned towards Inuyasha and grinned, before hissing and pulling his hand back._

 _Kikyo had used her powers against him, and that made Inuyasha grin. Keh, what did they expect? Just because she was a princess didn't mean she was some weak little thing._

 _Kikyo ran towards the door, probably trying to get to her bow and arrows, and Inuyasha started to move as well, dashing towards the man who had_ dared _putting his hands on her. Before he got there, though, two things happened. First, a woman with red eyes and a bored expression brought her fan on the nape of Kikyo's neck, and she fell to the ground with a gasp._

 _Inuyasha opened his mouth to yell her name, but that was when two people stepped in front of him. One of them looked human enough and had long, lightly violet, but the other was just some sort of weird and rather disgusting form to which a human head that look exactly like that of the other guy was attached._

 _Inuyasha had no plans on letting them stop him from getting to the princess, but he had not expected the strange demon to be so fast. Before he knew it, it was right in front of him, going straight for his neck. He managed to duck, dodging it, but that was when the other guy, the one that looked human, although his nose would not be fooled and that man was_ not _human, appeared in front of him._

 _Fuck. He had forgotten about him. This time, he chose to jump, although he didn't manage to completely escape his attack. When he landed again, his left arm was pretty much useless, and blood was starting to drip from it. He hadn't gotten any closer from Kikyo. Looked like he had underestimated them._

 _He glanced at the young woman, who was still unconscious, and his heart skipped a beat when he realized that she wasn't on the ground anymore, but had been picked up by the woman with the fan. She feigned a yawn and turned towards the black-haired man who had done nothing but look at the scene so far._

 _"_ _Let's go," she sighed. "This is ridiculous and unnecessary."_

 _"_ _I disagree," he answered with a deep voice. "This is amusing."_

 _Call for help. Inuyasha needed to call for help. He wasn't sure what the dumb humans would be able to do that he couldn't, but hey, at least they would be there. Also the Queen had powers, like Kikyo, so maybe she would be able to do something. It was humiliating as hell, but he would not take the risk that they would harm Kikyo._

 _He opened his mouth to scream when the black-haired man chuckled darkly._

 _"_ _That's useless,_ Inuyasha _. Be my guest, try it. But don't expect anyone to come here."_

 _Try it his ass._

 _"_ _Hey!" Inuyasha shouted. "Someone's trying to kidnap the princess! Can't you come in and do your fuckin' jobs?" No response. He shot a worried glance at the man who was still looking at him, clearly amused by the whole situation. "What, gonna let a half-breed take care of it all?" Still no response. Looked like he was on his own._

 _Things weren't looking too well, though. There were four of them, he was alone, and no one seemed to hear him. Why the fuck could no one hear him, by the way? He scanned the room, trying to look for something, and all he found was a tiny, pale girl, holding a mirror. That sight startled him. He didn't know what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't another_ person _. He should have smelled her but… There was_ no _smell coming from her._

 _He noticed a movement to his left, and moved one second too late. The man who had already injured him managed to connect a punch with his jaw, sending him flying. Inuyasha cursed. Had he been able to use his arm, he would have been able to do something._

 _He felt terribly powerless right now. He looked at his adversaries, and noticed that the woman who was still holding Kikyo was standing back. Good. That way, he wouldn't injure her._

 _He jumped in the air, immediately followed by the weird thing with the human head and his human-looking counterpart. Technically, it was a bad move for him. After all, that thing was a lot faster than him, and he wouldn't be able to dodge it in the air._

 _But he sure wouldn't miss it either._

 _He plunged his claws into his own chest and ignored the pain that instantly ran through his body. He threw his arm back, before bringing it down in front of him. "Blades of blood!"_

 _He saw the surprise in the eyes of the other people, and grinned in satisfaction when the weird demon and the human-looking one were destroyed. He landed again. He felt vaguely dizzy, like he always did after using the blades of blood. The attack provoked a defensive reaction of his demon blood, but he also lost quite a lot of it. He had no time to waste though, he started running towards the woman who had simply risen an eyebrow at all that had happened and—_

 _Pain. Pain like he had never felt before. Blood in his mouth, blood dribbling on his chin, blood spilling on the ground._

 _Slowly, he looked down to his chest, and didn't immediately understand what he was seeing. Something was going inside it, and he was pretty sure it came out on the other side._

 _It slid out, and he understood that it was a tentacle. He had impaled himself on that thing. He fell to his knees, still trying to comprehend the situation, but his brain refused to work. Dark spots started to appear in front of his eyes. How? Who?_

 _"_ _You were at least entertaining, Inuyasha," the dark-haired man's voice said._

 _He looked up to see him staring down at him with a smile. Shit. Had he not hit him with the Blades of Blood? He should have. He was sure the man was in his range._

 _"_ _Now we will take our leave, though. The princess is coming with us."_

 _"_ _You bastard," Inuyasha growled, "don't think I'm going to let you—"_

 _He tried to stand up, to walk towards them, to stop them, at all cost, including his own life, but that movement made him lose his balance, and all he could do was fall to the ground, unable to even break his fall. Blood. He smelled blood everywhere. Some came from the two demons he had slashed, but also, around him… His._

 _"_ _How tragic," the woman commented, rolling her eyes. "Let's go now. This is ridiculous."_

 _Inuyasha tried to move. He had to stop them. He had to. They were taking Kikyo with them! Why couldn't he— Why couldn't he—_

 _He couldn't see anymore, he couldn't smell anything, he was_ dying _, in a pool of his own blood and there was no one around to—_

* * *

Inuyasha jumped up, and it was only thanks to his fast reflexes that he didn't hurt himself when he arrived on the ground.

He had fallen from the tree.

Dreaming. He had been dreaming. Again. Like he had every night since then. Always the same dream. Six nights, and he had had to relive that moment six times.

He had been rather shocked, when he had woken up the first time — the _real_ time. He really had thought it was the end of the line for him, that he was going to die. Turned out that he hadn't, apparently. He had never thought his demon blood could be pushed so far. It was healing slower than usual, too, but he suspected there was some kind of poison on the tentacle.

The first day had been awful, but at least, since it had been spent interrogating domestics, he had managed not to move too much. Then, of course, as he was running through the castle, the pain had started rising, but really, there was nothing he could do about it. Kikyo was more important than anything he could be feeling.

He growled and started walking towards the castle's entrance. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep now. He had tried the previous nights, but adrenaline was always running through his veins, keeping him awake while he brooded over everything that had happened that night. He shouldn't have underestimated them, he should have been faster, he should have paid more attention to his surroundings, he should have called for help before getting into the room.

It didn't help that Ungai had told him all of that. He hated the man, and the captain of the guards hated him back with passion. He had despised him since he had first walked through the doors of the castle, when he was just a kid. Even now, he himself didn't know what Kikyo was thinking back then. He had attacked her, lashing out in anger at humans in general and nobility in particular, and she could have killed him. Only, she didn't. She had taken him in, and insisted on having him protecting her, despite being older than him and more than able to defend herself. He had done so ever since.

Until he had failed.

He started pacing in front of the door. The sun wasn't up yet, but he wanted nothing more than to leave the castle, _now_. Why would Kaede force him to be accompanied by that _girl_? He had been taken aback at first, when he had seen her, because of how similar to Kikyo she looked, but he was sure they were nothing alike. How could they be? Kikyo was… one of a kind.

Sure, he understood where Kaede was coming from, but he still felt rather dirty for what he was going to do to that girl. He shrugged his concern off. It wouldn't happen. He wouldn't have to trade them to bring Kikyo back. And if he did, well… Why should he care?

* * *

Kagome tiptoed out of her room, silently sliding the door shut behind her. Hojo had followed her after her encounter with Ungai, Inuyasha and the Queen, and once she had been done packing, he had walked her to another room.

"And no sneaking tonight, Kagome. I've been told that you had confidential informations and we couldn't take the risk to have you talk about it. I'll stay in front of your room for the night."

Some guard he was, she thought as she silently walked passed him. She had no idea how he managed to sleep while standing though. Maybe she should ask him about it. It could be useful.

She walked quickly through the corridors, finding her way through the castle without the slightest noise. Her heart skipped a beat when she ran into a soldier, but he gave her a nod, and she took a deep breath. Right. Of course they would know.

The sun was just slightly above the skyline when she arrived in front of Inuyasha. She couldn't help how her heart started beating faster, and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Hi, I…"

" _Finally_ ," he snarled.

She blinked. Huh. That was not how she had expected that to go.

"The old hag said _dawn_ , bitch, not freaking twilight!"

That was a lot to process. The insult, his anger that was absolutely not justified, and also…

"Surely you can't be talking about the _Queen_ , right?" she hissed, glancing around to make sure no one had heard him. If it was known that she had even been a part of such a conversation, she could say goodbye to her head.

"What's she gonna do?" Inuyasha shrugged. "Stop talking to me?" With that, he started to walk, and Kagome had to hurry behind him.

"How about have you beaten to death? You wouldn't care about that?"

"More like none of those weak humans would be able to do that. Now shut up and get on the horse."

"On the… _What_?"

Inuyasha rose an eyebrow at her when she looked up to the horse. What on earth was _this_ doing there?

"What did ya think? You ain't fast enough and there's no way you're gonna slow me down."

She looked at him, desperate.

"But I can't _ride_!"

He rolled his eyes.

"Just get on. I'll make sure you don't fall or that he won't throw you down."

That was a rather sweet thing to say, and Kagome looked at him with more attention at those words, a smile starting to make its way on her face.

"If people are supposed to think you're Kikyo, can't make them change their minds by having you looking awful, huh?"

And he just had to ruin it, apparently. They had been talking for less than five minutes, and he was already driving her completely insane. She didn't know what was going on. She thought of herself as being a rather composed person — not like she had much choice with her job —, so she didn't understand why she wasn't keeping her cool with him. But everything was going so fast whenever he was there, and now, she was just too annoyed with him and his insinuations to stop and actually think about it.

With a huff, she walked towards the horse, bravely not stepping back when the creature turned to look at her. She grabbed the saddle and tried to prop herself onto it, only to fall back miserably. She tried again, and failed again. She was starting to become very aware of Inuyasha's eyes on her. She was just confirming to him that she was useless, wasn't she?

She tried for the third time, pushing more strongly, and managed to balance herself on the stirrup for a few seconds. Her eyes widened when she understood that she was not going to keep that balance much longer. She heard Inuyasha's snort behind her, and before she could tell what was happening, his hands were on her hips, lifting her up, and putting her on the horse, with both of her legs on the same side.

She blinked at him rather dumbly, trying to comprehend what had just occurred, but he had already stepped back and crossed his arms, looking at her with an unreadable expression. That certainly wasn't how she had envisioned their first contact. His hands were strong and his grip powerful, but in no way had it felt gentle nor caring. The realization hit her that it was because he _didn't_ care about her. At all.

It sent a pang of a weird emotion, close to pain, through her chest. Since the day before, she had worked on separating fantasies and reality when it came to him, but this thought in particular still got to her. Before she could piece her thoughts together and try to see what she could make of it, Inuyasha turned around.

"There ya go. Let's go now, wench."

Oh, she was not going to put up with the name calling.

"I have a name, you know. It's Kagome."

"Right. Whatever."

He started walking, clearly not paying attention to what she had said, and Kagome took a deep breath. She had also never thought he would be so infuriating. What, so only the princess was worth basic respect? Fantastic. She sighed, and set her horse moving. She gasped at the movement, and tried to steady herself, but it wasn't easy. She sent a desperate look at Inuyasha, but he wasn't even looking at her. That _jerk_.

She cast her earlier thoughts away. Just like her infatuation with him, certain things were better left unsaid. Also, she used to like having those feelings. They entertained her, made her days less grim. She didn't want to tarnish that, even though she was very aware of the fact that it had all been in her head. She tried to get her horse to walk a little faster, and yelped out when it actually _did_.

It looked like this journey was not going to be all fun.

* * *

 _And here it is, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know if you did! I want to really thank the people who reviewed this, it means a lot and it's really motivating to know that you enjoy this story! I'll see you soon!_

 _Dya._


	4. Chapter 4

Four

If there was one thing Kagome hadn't expected from this journey, it was for it to be boring. Yet, by the end of the day, she would have done _anything_ to occupy her mind. At first, Inuyasha had insisted on running. He was incredibly fast, much more than any human could be, and probably faster than her horse as well. It soon became obvious, though, that Kagome really couldn't gallop.

She thought she was doing fairly good when it came to riding the horse, especially since it was her first time, but when the stallion started to run, she completely lost it. It terrified her, she felt as though she had no control, and once she managed to stop her horse, she categorically refused to try it again. Inuyasha would probably have had nothing of that, if they didn't hope that people would take her for Kikyo.

Kaede hadn't been completely lying when she had talked about the risks of him getting killed. People in these lands hated demons. It had been less than a century since the War, in which she had taken part herself, that had resulted in the current situation. Back then, no one had expected demons to… Well, to lose. And yet, here they were today, with most demons pushed outside of these lands.

Of course, some were still walking in the lands, mostly kitsunes, who could disguise themselves, and sometimes demons looking for something to eat or hungry for power, but master Ungai's warriors, trained as monks, would take care of it. Then, of course, there were independent monks, priestesses, and demons slayers. Among those ones, many actually disagreed with how the situations were handled by Ungai, arguing that not all demons were bad, that sometimes things could be resolved in a better way.

There were even rumors of a secret village where humans and demons lived in harmony, but no one knew where to find it. This could only mean one thing: the village was protected by people with spiritual powers. This seemed impossible, and yet Kagome loved that idea. Of course people who actually _knew_ about demons would be the most willing to accept them.

Still, as things were, demons walking freely on the lands where either killed or turned into slaves. Inuyasha certainly couldn't leave to look for Kikyo by himself, and if people thought he was with the princess, they probably wouldn't try to take him away from her. Inuyasha being a white dog demon, even though he was only half, he would be identified as powerful. Strong. Good workforce, to put it clearly.

So that at least made sense in Kagome's mind. What she didn't understand was why Kaede hadn't said that she would be able to go back once they would have reached the demons' lands. There was nothing she would be able to do over there. On the contrary, she would be putting herself in danger, and probably Inuyasha too, since he would have to protect her. She was sure there was a reason for that, but she hadn't been able to figure it out.

During that long, long first day, Kagome eventually tried talking to Inuyasha, but he wouldn't answer to her, just vaguely grunting. After a few attempts to start a conversation, he had sighed loudly and had jumped so that he would be a couple of steps ahead of her. That was when Kagome had decided it was time to give up. For the day, at least.

Because she was not going to spend however long it would take them to get to the princess in silence, just looking at the landscapes. Not that it wasn't a nice view, but she just couldn't do that.

At the end of the day, when Inuyasha finally commended for them to halt, just by raising his hand, she had let herself slide down from the horse, landing with a grunt. She took a few steps, trying to stretch her legs, and bit back a cry of pain. She had felt the pain in her back earlier, but she didn't think her legs would feel that bad as well. She hadn't used them all day, so why would they?

Inuyasha glanced at her, but he didn't seem to care too much.

"We'll be spending the night here," he said, his voice just as rough as usual. "Better get the blankets from the horse, woman, because I'm not gonna do that for ya."

Kagome's patience for the day had just vanished at this point. She didn't care about anything, and she just wanted to sleep, hoping the night would dull the pain in her back, and her legs, and… Hell, in her entire body. It was her time to answer with just a grunt. She grabbed the blankets and did her best to make herself a nice little nest. The ground would be hard, but she was used to it.

"Not stopping in an inn?" she asked, her voice tired but also annoyed. She knew she was probably being petty, but she was in a terrible mood right now. "You don't think that would tarnish the image of the Princess?"

Inuyasha glanced at her and rose an eyebrow.

"Keh. You clearly don't know her at all. Kikyo wouldn't mind sleeping outside if she had to."

Kagome yawned.

"You're right," she mumbled, "I don't know her." _But I know nobility._

Inuyasha seemed rather pleased by her answer and nodded, clearly satisfied.

"Just stay there while I go get something to eat."

With that, he just took off, running, and Kagome's eyes followed him as he leapt away. She yawned once more. What had he been talking about? Oh, right, eating. She probably needed to eat. Inuyasha had refused to make a pause during the day, so she had eaten something while on the horse, but it wasn't exactly comfortable.

She should really get up, prepare a fire, get ready to cook whatever Inuyasha would back with. If she didn't, he would probably add that to the list of reasons why she was useless and just a burden in general. But it felt so nice, laying down, being surrounded by all this warmth, and she was just so, so tired…

She could close her eyes for a few seconds, couldn't she? Just let herself relax… Just for a few seconds… Really, she would get up in no time…

* * *

Inuyasha came back to the place where he had left Kagome, only to discover her asleep, curled up in a ball under the blankets. He rolled his eyes, dumping the two pheasants he had killed on the ground. With the night already there, he hadn't feared the possibility of running into some farmers who'd try to kidnap him, or worst, some lord who would be unhappy to find him hunting on his lands. Not that Inuyasha actually _feared_ anything, naturally. He just remembered stuff that he was in no hurry to relive.

Still, the girl was fuckin' careless, he thought as he started to gather wood to start a fire. He could have eaten the pheasants raw, but you never knew. Maybe she'd wake up, and he wasn't going to let the girl starve to death. She was useless, but now that she was there, he'd better make the best use he could of her.

It didn't take him long to get the fire burning. Silently but efficiently, he plucked the pheasants and proceeded to cook them. It had been quite some time since he had last needed to do that. Since he had arrived in the castle, actually. He was no more than ten, at the time, which meant already four years of surviving on his own. He had no idea how he had managed to do that, but he guessed it was because Ungai had become more and more effective as the years went by.

He ate a pheasant and a half, just in case that girl would wake up. He was confused by how soundly she slept. Hadn't she thought about demons? Beasts? Or bandits? The type of thing they risked meeting in this day and age? Either she was an idiot, or she had just been that sheltered. Likely both.

Or, a part of him discreetly added, maybe she had realized that she was safe as long as he was around. He would have smelled her blood or heard her scream while hunting. Hell, he would have smelled it if there were any threats around, and he would have taken care of those before she even noticed them.

But… No. No one thought that way, even if her obviously having no problem sleeping with him around confused the hell out of him. He shouldn't let himself even think of that stuff — let himself hope. Kikyo was like that, Kikyo trusted him, Kikyo was different. He would cling to that thought, cling to her and her only. He owed it to her.

He stood up, prepared to spend the night sitting against the tree, only half-asleep. It was when he walked in front of the horse that he noticed.

She had left a blanket on there. For him.

Shit.

He glanced over at her sleeping face. She seemed perfectly peaceful, her breathing slow and regular. She was clearly miles away from any form of concern.

Well, he didn't need the damn blanket, he decided. She should have known. He was a half-demon, after all. She was… Yeah, she was insulting him by even _thinking_ that he would need one of those. He grabbed the blanket and walked over to her, draping it around her. Ha. Thought she'd get away with that one, huh?

He sat a few feet away from her, and leaned against the tree. He was definitely interpreting that the right way. Humans were terrible, especially the ones who lived in the castle. He would have known if there were decent humans there, with all the years he had spent in it.

So why had the sight of that blanket sent such a strong emotion through his chest?

* * *

Kagome was roughly pulled out of her sleep by a hand shaking her awake. She almost instantly sat up. Her months of work at the castle really had trained her well. The first thing she noticed, not without a gasp of horror, was that it was way too sunny already. Oh no, this couldn't be! How had she overslept? Why hadn't the girls woken her up? Would she lose her job? Oh god, they would fire her, and she would have to go home, and look at her brother and her mom, and figure out something to keep their plates full, and…

"Could you get _moving_?" a voice snarled above her. "It's late already. Let's eat and go. Quickly."

She had never been happier to hear Inuyasha's voice. She quickly shook her head to get rid of her sleepiness and stood up, keeping the blankets with her. She didn't miss the fact that there were three, when she had taken only two when she had fallen asleep. She directed a curious glance at Inuyasha, but he seemed to be busy, and she didn't want to interrupt him.

"Caught a pheasant this morning," he mumbled. "Get yourself half of it."

She nodded gratefully. Unfortunately they didn't have rice, and she wasn't used to eating meat in the morning, but that would have to do, although she did hope they would get to sleep inside an inn the following day. She ate quickly, without a word, and was joined by Inuyasha. It tasted rather good, actually, and she flashed him a smile.

"Thank you, Inuyasha."

He didn't answer, simply giving her a weird glance that she couldn't decipher. It was funny how he wore his emotions on his face most of the time, but sometimes, generally when she wanted to know how he was feeling the most, it just became impossible for her to read him.

She stood up slowly, and as she moved towards the horse, she also realized how sore she was. Her entire body felt terrible, with a particular emphasis on her thighs, her bottom and her back. She grimaced as she walked towards the animal. Oh, this day would be _terrible_.

She quickly folded the blankets and put them back inside the bags that were still attached on the horse's back. She managed not to flinch when the animal turned to look at her. Slowly, she reached out to caress its nose, when Inuyasha's voice boomed right behind her, making her jump.

"Would ya get on that thing?"

Before she could answer and let him know that he _could not_ do that, because her heart had nearly stopped, he had grabbed her, pretty much like he had done the day before. Except that this time, instead of catching her by the hips, he put his hands around the lower part of her thighs. A part of her that was _very_ sensitive at the moment. She couldn't help but yelp out in pain, and Inuyasha immediately froze, which she barely noticed.

"Don't worry," she managed to say with a grimace. "I'll get myself up there on my own."

Inuyasha didn't answer, and while Kagome difficultly climbed the horse, all he could do was stare down at his hands. He knew they were dangerous, he knew the damage his claws could cause. But he hadn't ever really thought he would hurt people with them if he didn't want to. He had done it before, as a kid, but he had barely touched another person since then. Even with Kikyo, he'd…

Would he hurt Kikyo if he touched her?

"Hm, shouldn't we get going?"

Inuyasha shook the thoughts away and gave her a nod. He soon started running, and he couldn't help a satisfied grin when he heard her curse under her breath. She clumsily got her horse to trot. The animal, being well trained, didn't cause her any problem.

For a long time, they just travelled silently, until it became too heavy for Kagome to endure.

"Didn't you need the blanket last night?" she asked, thinking it was better than nothing.

This got a bigger reaction out of Inuyasha than anything she had said the day before.

"Keh," he scoffed, "what do ya think? 'f course not. I'm a half-demon, I'm stronger than you humans. I don't need that sort of stuff."

Kagome chuckled, which earned her a scandalized look.

"Just because you don't _need_ it, doesn't mean it wouldn't be better _with_ it," she explained before he had the time to go off on her. "There's really no need to be so defensive about it."

Inuyasha opened his mouth, and then closed it slowly. He didn't know what to answer to that. She was right. He just had never lived his life like that. Before, it hadn't matter what was better or more comfortable, because he just had to survive. After, well, he was just used not to pay attention to it.

"So, do you want me to let you use the third blanket?" Kagome asked after a few minutes.

"Obviously not," Inuyasha answered. "I just told ya, I don't need it."

Kagome rose an eyebrow. There was less conviction in his voice than there usually was, but she would leave it at that. For now. She didn't know what was going on in that head of his, but the boy surely wasn't being very honest with her — and possibly not with himself either. With a sigh, she tried to find another subject of conversation, not wanting to go back to silent travel just now. At least, talking distracted her a bit from her pain. She had tried to find a position that wasn't too painful, and had resulted in putting a blanket under herself, but it still wasn't ideal.

"Hm, do you know if we'll be able to find an inn for tonight?"

She half expected him to snarl back that he had no idea, what did she think, how would he know, but instead he answered.

"Yeah, 's probably better if we do. We'll be entering the lands of another lord tomorrow, so we'll spend the night there."

Kagome nodded slowly.

"But he will also be under the princess' authority, right?"

"Right. 'xcept that you're not the princess."

He had a point.

"What, already forgot about that?"

"After a day traveling on a horse and a night in the open? Not exactly. I just… How much are we supposed to let people believe that I'm the princess?"

"Until they ask," Inuyasha answered, his voice not showing any of the confusion he'd felt upon hearing her say 'we' with such a natural way.

With that, like he had done the day before, he took a few jumps to get ahead of her, effectively stopping the conversation.

* * *

"There," Inuyasha said, slowing down at the end of the day as they reached the top of a small hill.

Kagome's horse naturally took the same pace as he was, allowing her to talk to him.

"Are we nearing the inn?" she asked, not bothering to hide the joy in her voice.

"Think so. I can smell it from here."

This prompted Kagome to tilt her head, curious. She had heard him mention his sense of smell more than once before, but she wondered exactly how it worked. Then, she remembered he had insinuated that she smelled bad, and she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Let's move it," Inuyasha said. "We'll leave early tomorrow. There are rumors about the lord here, so it'd be better if we could not spend the night on his lands."

"What rum— Hey!"

"I said move it!" Inuyasha yelled, already running down the road.

Well, at least, he didn't insult her anymore. That had to be progress, right?

* * *

 _New chapter! Thank you so much for the support, it means a lot! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter as well, don't hesitate to leave me a review to let me know what you think of it! I will see you soon!_

 _Dya._


	5. Chapter 5

Five

Inuyasha paused to sniff the air again as they approached the inn, and rose a hand to signal Kagome to stop. She managed to do so with some difficulties.

"Is everything okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Should be fine," Inuyasha answered. "Let's approach them calmly, _princess_ ," he added with a joyless grin. "Wouldn't want them to lose their shit and try to kill us, hm?"

Definitely not.

"They shouldn't ask you any question, since they'll probably think they know who you are, but if they do, keep your answers short, okay? Don't go blabbing like you always do."

Blabbing? She didn't _blab_. And, wait, did that mean that he actually listened to her when she tried to speak to him?

"It's a good thing it's not nightfall yet," Inuyasha commented bitterly. "Wouldn't have stood a chance then."

She wasn't sure she enjoyed his dark sense of humor, but what frightened her the most was probably what everything he said actually meant — about him, about what he had gone through, about the way people viewed him. The more she was around him, the more she understood how unusual her mother's opinions on demons had been, and she couldn't help but wonder why. Where did it all come from?

There was nothing she could do to answer this question for now, so she left it unresolved, and gently prompted her horse to start walking by patting his neck. She was starting to understand that she didn't need to be as rough as she had been so far, because the stallion had obviously been very well trained.

"Anything else?" she asked Inuyasha as he settled his pace to walk next to her.

"Don't get me killed."

Great. If it was starting this way, it most definitely couldn't go wrong now, could it?

As they approached the inn, slowly, like Inuyasha had recommended, Kagome saw a young child who was playing in front of the house look at them and rush in. He soon came out again, followed by a man wearing a dark kimono. Probably the innkeeper and his son. Inuyasha watched them wearily, ready to run for his life if needed, his old habits coming back to him almost frighteningly easily. If there were some royal soldiers inside or just a monk, a priestess or a demon slayer, they could decide to just open fire without warning.

But then, the man hit the young boy on the head, and Inuyasha was pretty sure that meant he had identified them, or thought he had. By the time he and Kagome arrived in front of them, he was wearing his most obsequious smile. He bowed deeply when Kagome jumped to the ground as gracefully as possible, which meant he, luckily, didn't see her stumble in a not-at-all graceful way, nor Inuyasha grabbing her by the elbow and steadying her with a familiarity that was absolutely not appropriate.

His son looked at them suspiciously, but soon his father was pulling him down too, mumbling something about how he had been raised.

"It is an _honor_ to have you here," he said. "I have given orders so we can prepare our best room—"

"Don't say any name," Inuyasha growled. "No attention's wanted here." At least, he held back his remark about how the best room of this hovel couldn't be much good.

The man shot him a dirty glance, but didn't say anything. It was no secret that, for some reason, the Princess seemed to care about her… half-demon pet. It was also pretty common that noble women didn't take care of things themselves, which meant that their servants would do it themselves.

"Everything for you, my Lady," the man said, his hateful expression disappearing in a second. "Dinner is getting prepared, and…"

"Serve it in her room," Inuyasha ordered once more. The less she was noticed, the better.

"Of course, of course," the man said, again bowing deeply. "As for your, erm, _companion_ , such _customers_ generally sleep in the barn."

Inuyasha had expected that. It was usual for inns, for the rare cases when there were demons around, following their human masters, but that almost never happened. Demons would rather die than submit. Plus, it was probably the dude's way of getting back at him for basically insulting him. Just _talking_ to him was probably considered demeaning.

Keh. Humans. He was about to answer when Kagome's voice rung out.

"I'm sorry, _what_?"

The 'I'm sorry' part was probably not such a good idea, since, as a Princess, she had no reasons to ever excuse herself, and even less in such a situation, but for the rest, her cold tone was actually a pretty good imitation of Kikyo. Inuyasha didn't consider any of that when he turned to look at her in disbelief. She was glaring at the innkeeper who was just blinking at her dumbly.

"Why couldn't he have a room like everybody else?" she asked, anger starting to rise in her voice and tainting her cheeks as well.

The innkeeper and Inuyasha both gaped at her. What was she even _talking_ about? Inuyasha had never been to an inn before, as Kikyo never wandered too far from the castle and always made sure they were back at nightfall, but he knew that causing a scandal was not the way to deal with that stuff. Had her role already gotten to her head? Just because she supposedly had power didn't mean she could just do anything, dammit!

"W-well," the man stuttered, "the other customers would never accept being treated the same way as a half-breed and they would probably refuse to come to my inn again, if they knew!"

There was panic in his voice, but it only made Kagome's fists ball up in anger. She wanted to scream in frustration.

"Maybe we could, like, put another bed in the princess' room?" the man's son offered, which earned him a new slap on the back of his head. "Ow!" he protested. "I mean he's like a dog or something, right? What's he gonna do?"

"How dare you insult her like that?" the innkeeper shouted. "I'm so sorry, I…"

"Are you insinuating that I can't defend myself?" Kagome retorted, crossing her arms, obviously not willing to let him off the hook so easily. The dog comment had particularly disgusted her, but the boy was just a kid. She couldn't hold him responsible for his education.

The man didn't know who to turn to now. On the one hand, he just _couldn't_ put the half-breed in the same room as the princess, and _surely_ that was not what she had meant, it was _way_ too shameful, but on the other hand, he decently could not give him a room either, and finally, the princess didn't seem happy with the thought that he would be sleeping in the barn. His salvation came from where he expected it the least.

"I'll sleep in the damn barn," Inuyasha growled. He shot Kagome a furious look that surprised her, but bowed lightly. "Do not worry about me," he said with a deference she knew to be completely faked.

With that, he grabbed the horse's reins and stormed off, leaving Kagome completely confused. What the hell was his problem? What had she done wrong this time?

"If you will follow me," the innkeeper said, gesturing towards his establishment's house. Kagome nodded, and went after him with a nervous smile.

She was soon settled. Inuyasha had come in for just a few seconds to drop one of the bags that was tied on the back of the horse, but the innkeeper's son was still there, and the half-demon had resolutely ignored the glances she had thrown her way.

The room wasn't big, but it looked like the blankets were clean. When left alone, Kagome vaguely thought that no matter what Inuyasha could say, the princess wouldn't have been too pleased with the situation. With a sigh, she undid her hair, letting them fall freely on her shoulders. She knew that her hairstyle wasn't necessarily one of a noble woman, but she had at least tried to make it more sophisticated than it was back when she worked in the castle.

She looked at the bag, hesitating to go through it. Did Inuyasha expect her to change? She guessed there was some sort of nightwear in there, but she would have to wait until—

There was a soft knock on the door, and the innkeeper's son walked in, carrying a tray with a bowl of rice, what she guessed was tea, and fish as well. Just smelling it made her salivate, but also appreciate that such a meal was probably a lot in such a small and poor inn. She would have to make sure to pay them accordingly. She gave a nod to the kid, which only earned her a confused look.

"Oh, and, could you make sure to bring food to my, erm, travel companion too?" she asked.

"Sure," the boy mumbled, although he didn't really manage to hide that he thought that such a request was completely ridiculous. As far as he was concerned, demons could hunt for themselves. That woman'd rather pay them _real_ well.

Kagome ate silently once he had closed the door behind him, and put the tray back outside of the room once she was finished. She then carefully removed her kimono. The feeling of silk against her skin was very different from what she usually wore, and she had to admit part of her appreciated what it meant and the beauty of it. The other part was terrified of damaging it or ripping it and would have given anything to get back to more normal cotton clothes. At least, it wasn't a too expensive one. It sent the message that she wasn't just anyone, but she could still travel with it.

She put on a night gown that she guessed belonged to the princess, and felt slightly uncomfortable when she saw how well it fitted her. Her and the princess were really alike, weren't they?

She slipped under the covers, wondering how many people exactly had noticed the similarities. She sighed with satisfaction in the bed, blowed the candles that still provided light in the small bedroom and closed her eyes, only to open them again when she heard some noise. She sat up and looked around her, worried.

That was when she met golden eyes, opened her mouth to scream and—

And her scream was silenced as a hand clasped against her mouth while and angry yet familiar voice whispered "Shut up, you idiot, it's me!"

"I-Inuyasha? What…"

"Lower, woman! Can't have them thinkin' I'm in your room!"

Kagome obeyed and shut her mouth, listening in the silent of the night to see if anyone would come in. After a few seconds, she looked back to Inuyasha, only to find his golden eyes glaring at her, furious.

Oh, great. _Fantastic_. What had she done this time?

"The hell did you think you were doing back then?" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Back when?" she answered on the same tone.

"Ask for a room for me? Who in their right _mind_ would do that? Thought you could force them to do whatever you wanted just because you're the princess? Wanted to test your power, maybe?"

With every suggestion, pronounced with hatred and with Inuyasha gradually leaning towards her, Kagome's eyes widened and she got paler and paler. It was the first time that it hit her that this was what he thought of her, and the idea almost made her sick. It wasn't so much what he was saying that got to her, because she knew none of that was right. She was way too spontaneous to do or even consider doing something like that. She did what felt right at the moment, and, it was true, didn't necessarily think of the consequences.

However, if Inuyasha said that, it had to mean that this was what he thought of her. This was how he pictured her. Like someone who would try to test her power at his expense, using him as a simple pawn. And _that_ was what hurt her.

"Of course not," she practically growled. "Now get _out_ of my room!"

Inuyasha seemed taken aback by her reaction, but he was most definitely not going to be scared by that little girl.

"Yeah? Then what did you think you were doing?"

He shouldn't be pushing the issue like that, he knew it. He shouldn't ask for a truth he didn't want to hear, but he thought it was better to rip off that band-aid now.

"What I was doing was trying to get you a _room_ , you moron!" Kagome snapped. Inuyasha didn't have the time to retort anything before she continued, now furious. "Also, my name is not bitch, wench, nor woman! It's Ka-go-me! Now could you _get out_?"

Anger was always a better thing than pain, and she would not let him see that she was hurt by the way he thought of her. She was not going to give him that pleasure. He already thought she was dumb and useless, and that was more than enough.

"Feh! And who's gonna make sure you don't get robbed during the night, huh? Bet you didn't even think to hide the money."

Kagome's anger partly melted when she realized that he was very much right, but that didn't mean she was going to let him off just like that.

"I haven't," she mumbled, annoyed at herself for giving him an opening.

She waited for the nagging remark that she expected to follow, but Inuyasha didn't say anything. Instead, he stood up and walked towards the window, through which he had probably gotten in. She expected him to just jump out, but instead he let himself drop back onto the ground. Under the moon's light, she saw him leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

"Just sleep," he ordered. "I'll make sure nothing happens."

She had not expected that. She was in too much of a bad mood now to just do as he said, so she rolled her eyes, sighed loudly, before getting back under her covers. She eyed him for a second, wondering if he needed any, but decided that she was not going to worry about him anymore. He could take care of himself and he obviously didn't like it when she tried to do it. She turned her back on him and closed her eyes, resolutely decided to find sleep and get away from that asshole.

She was unaware of Inuyasha's stare on her. Many thoughts were going through his mind, and he was unable to find peace. He had no idea whether or not she was saying the truth, if she was _actually_ just trying to have a room for him. If she had, though wouldn't she have retorted something on the dog comment? She had obviously not cared for that.

At the same time, he was convinced that no woman in the castle where they came from would be fine with him spending the night in the same room as them. Except, of course, for Kikyo. Not that it had ever happened, because he would never have imposed himself like that on her, but he was sure she wouldn't have minded. And Kagome hadn't even said anything about it. Was it the comment on the money that was making her react like that?

Although… Now that he thought about it…

"Hey," he called, "are you the one who asked the kid to bring me my food?"

Silence.

"Yes," she finally answered, obviously annoyed. "What, think I was also doing that to 'test my power' on them?"

She waited for a response for a while, but it never came. As discreetly as she could, she turned to look behind her shoulder at Inuyasha. In the obscurity, he was hard to make out, and he looked more like a demon than she had ever seen him with the moon catching in his white hair and one of his fang visible at the corner of his mouth. Meeting his eyes made her breath catch in her throat, and she swiftly turned back, trying to calm down the beating of her heart.

 _Dammit, Kagome. He has been nothing but an asshole to you. Get a grip, girl!_

She shut her eyes tight, calling for sleep to take her. According to what Inuyasha had told her earlier, they would probably have to leave really early on the next day, so she needed every moment of sleep she could get.

It took a long time before she finally drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

She was woken up by a soft knock on her door, and she immediately jerked up. She checked the room quickly to find out Inuyasha was gone.

"Come on in," she called with the most princess-like voice she could muster.

A young woman came in, who she guessed was probably the innkeeper's daughter. She bowed deeply, before asking, a bit clumsily "May I help you get dressed, pr- Hm, my Lady?"

"I would really appreciate that," Kagome answered with a soft smile. The girl was obviously terrified of messing it up, a feeling with which she was very familiar, and she wanted to make it as easy on her as possible.

Being dressed by someone other than herself was something she could have passed on though, and something she hoped she wouldn't have to do again for the rest of the journey. She ate in her room once more, enjoying a more conventional breakfast than she had had the day before, then went out to meet with Inuyasha. On her way, she discovered that the innkeeper's family was there to bid her goodbye, which made her really uncomfortable. Despite that, she paid them generously, even though part of her was still annoyed that Inuyasha hadn't gotten a room.

By the time she got out after thanking them with their hospitality, Inuyasha was literally stamping his feet in front of the door. He could have woken her up if this was too late for him, she thought, deciding not to apologize.

"Finally," he growled, his voice low so he wouldn't be heard inside the inn. "Didn't I tell you we needed to leave early today? Don't want to spend too much time on that lord's lands."

"It _is_ early," she hissed back.

He rolled his eyes and watched her climb on the horse, without trying to help her this morning. She wasn't getting much better at that. Her muscles still hurt, and she wondered if it would ever stop, but she didn't comment on it.

"Shall we?" she asked.

He nodded.

"We already wasted _way_ too much time. Let's move."

Kagome sighed and prompted her house to start moving. Would all of their departures be like this, with him being annoyed at her and leaving her behind? Because she was already getting real tired of it.

"So, what are the rumors you mentioned on this lord?" she questioned.

He eyed her as she stabilized herself next to him and shook his head like this should have been obvious, and really, how dumb was she.

"They say he kidnaps pretty women. In other words, you're not at risk, but you never know, some half-blind guy may want to try something."

He heard Kagome's offended gasp, and next thing he knew, she had pushed her horse a little faster, and this time, he was the one behind. He grinned. Maybe he was having at least a _little_ fun with that girl.

* * *

 _And here you go~ I may have to slow my publication rhythm a little now that classes have started again, but I hope you're still enjoying this story. Don't hesitate to leave a review if you do, it really helps motivating me and it means a lot to know that people like what I'm writing!_

 _Dya._


	6. Chapter 6

Six

Kagome was leading her horse as fiercely as she could, holding her head high. She couldn't _believe_ the nerve of Inuyasha. Did he think that she was happy about all this? That she was the one forcing herself on him? Sure, she had accepted the Queen's offer, but you can't really refuse anything to a Queen, and she wanted her family to be fine.

It hadn't helped that, when she had turned around to steal a glance in his direction, she had found him smirking. She was possibly even more offended now than she was before. Oh, so he thought it was funny, huh? Jerk. She already knew she wasn't as pretty as the princess, there was no need to remind it to her. She had spent days working, and she knew it showed, whether it was on her hands or on her silhouette, nowhere near as delicate as that of a noblewoman.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, was pretty satisfied with having managed to make her shut up so early in the day. It usually took much longer than that, and to be fair, he was rather relieved, thinking that now, she might stop trying to make contact with him. It was best for the both of them. If, as he was starting to consider was possible, she truly didn't despise him the way everybody else did, he shouldn't care. It didn't matter that it suddenly questioned how he had viewed the world for years — what mattered was their mission.

Finding Kikyo, bringing her back. And he was already starting to feel more guilty about using her as a replacement, which he couldn't let happen, because he would do what he had to do.

Inuyasha was pretty bad at keeping that sort of thing in mind, though, as, the second he smelled people coming, he jumped in front of her, signaling her to stop. Despite their recent fight, Kagome knew better than to disobey him. Moments later, they found themselves surrounded by a group of soldiers, and Inuyasha started growling, keeping his voice low.

The man who was apparently the captain of the guards seemed to pale when he saw them — or rather, when he identified them.

"Captain," a man whispered, his voice caught by Inuyasha's sensitive ears, "is that…"

"Silence!" he hissed in response. "You will have to follow me to the castle," he said, doing his best to keep his voice steady, his clearly anxious eyes staying on Inuyasha.

"That's not an option," Inuyasha responded as his growl intensified. "We have to keep going. It's a matter of life or death."

The captain gulped down. He knew they didn't stand a chance, and still, he drew his sword. He couldn't disobey direct orders in front of all his men, no matter how much he doubted said orders.

"We were told to bring every woman on those lands to the castle," the man answered, not faltering.

A heavy silence followed the exchange. The fact that no one talked about 'killing the demon' nor anything along those lines clearly told Inuyasha that they had been recognized, or, in this situation, that they thought they had recognized Kagome. Which meant that the situation had to be pretty fucking serious, for them to want to stop even the goddamn _princess_. Inuyasha glanced around, trying to analyze the situation. There were a dozen men, but no spiritual users, which was really weird. Nothing he couldn't deal with, but he would probably come out of it injured. That wouldn't have been enough to stop him, if it hadn't been for Kagome. There was no way he could protect her while taking care of the rest.

Still, it was their best chance. Maybe the lord would be pissed and try to catch them, but they would just have to get out of his lands fast enough. That would mean not stopping for the night, though. Well, Kagome would just have to suck it up. He flexed his fingers, getting his claws ready. He hadn't fully recovered from the injury inflicted by Kikyo's kidnapper, so he couldn't use the Blades of Blood right now. Too bad. It would take him longer. He got ready to jump and—

"We'll come with you," Kagome's voice said hastily.

The captain visibly relaxed while Inuyasha turned to look at her in complete disbelief. He found her already looking at him, and that's when he noticed the fear in her eyes.

A fear he was the cause of.

His shoulders sagged a little at the realization. He shouldn't be surprised. He shouldn't feel hurt.

He was such a fuckin' moron. He should never have let himself believe that she was _different._ After all this time, why couldn't he tell? There was no such thing as people who were different. Except for Kikyo. He should never have let that happen. He vaguely considered still taking care of the group of men, but finally gave up the idea as they moved closer from them. He wouldn't be quick enough now.

"If you will follow me," the captain offered with a respectful nod at Kagome.

She answered with a tense smile and got her horse to start walking. Her heart was beating unbelievably fast, and she doubted she had ever been so scared in her life. What the hell had she done? What would happen if they found out that she _wasn't_ Kikyo? Oh God, what if the lord knew Kikyo and saw straight through her act? She didn't have to just look vaguely like Kikyo now. She had to behave like her as much as possible.

Like a woman she knew _nothing_ about.

She did her best to straighten her features and maneuvered to get closer from Inuyasha. He refused to look at her, but she could tell from the way his jaw was clenched that he was not happy with her. Too bad. She still wasn't going to let him hurt those men.

Not that there was anything she could have done to stop him had he decided to go with it anyway, but for now he seemed to have decided not to. Which she was very grateful to him for.

She leaned towards him, hoping to catch his attention, even though there was _no way_ he could have not noticed her presence.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered.

He didn't move, but almost immediately, a spear was pressed against Kagome's shoulder, making her jump, and she regained her balance only by miracle.

"No talking!" a voice ordered harshly.

Inuyasha's head snapped towards the man, and Kagome felt her blood freeze in her veins. He had looked ready to _attack_ before, but now he looked like he was going to _murder_ that man. For a second, the world stood still, before Inuyasha seemed to decide that it wasn't worth it. He shot her a dark look that she hadn't expected. She knew he wouldn't be happy, but she hadn't been prepared for what seemed like hatred and… disappointment, maybe?

She opened her mouth, wanting to ask if he was okay, even though she couldn't think of any reason why he _wouldn't_ be, but the same man clicked his tongue, and she just shut it again. It would have to wait.

But the way Inuyasha had looked at her did prey on her mind all the way to the castle.

* * *

Once they arrived, the captain yelled quick orders to give Kagome a room, and a feeling of relief washed over her. It looked like they would be fine, at least for now. Guilt appeared almost immediately, as she realized that it was only her (fake) title that gave her that privilege, quickly followed by an anger to which she had been used for a long time, but that also only seemed to have worsened since the beginning of the travel. What happened to the other girls, those who didn't have the chance to be born in a wealthy family?

She didn't get to dwell on that thought, though, as she heard the captain give another order to lock Inuyasha up. A group of armed appeared, one of them holding what she guessed was an enchanted necklace, and while she wondered very quickly why a castle this size didn't have its own monk, she had no time to waste.

"What do you think you're doing, captain?" her voice boomed in the room as she did her best to imitate a noble voice.

Inuyasha glanced at her once more. What had she thought would happen when they'd accept? Granted, he hadn't thought they'd have beads of Subjugation, but she hadn't even thought of the possibility that they'd hurt them? What a fuckin' moron.

"We can't—"

"Surely you're not thinking of locking him up?" she asked with a tone of incredulity that even Inuyasha had to admit was pretty good. "Surely, you can't be even _considering_ this option?"

The captain seemed pretty uncomfortable with the situation.

"He's a _demon_ , my Lady, we…"

"I certainly see no difference between demons and some of your men, captain," Kagome hissed, and she was completely sincere. She had seen humans do much worst than demons — although she had no doubt demons were no to be left behind in terms of atrocities. "Do you _really_ want to risk this? Do you think I would forgive such an insult? You're standing on a thin thread here."

Her voice was icy, and Kagome had absolutely _no idea_ where this was all coming from. She knew her fair share of noblewomen who acted like this, generally over stuff that was utterly ridiculous, but she had never thought she could pull it off. Yet, she noticed the exact moment when the captain caved.

"Fine," he capitulated. "Please escort the princess and her… Ahem, _companion_ to a room."

Kagome gave him a simple nod of appreciation, not showing her relief at the fact that she wouldn't have to be alone. She got down from her horse, and felt her legs shaking under her, but she couldn't allow herself to simply fall to the ground, so she followed the maid who, to anyone else, had appeared out of nowhere, but who Kagome knew was standing behind any object big enough to hide her, just waiting in case her presence was needed.

As she walked past to the captain, he talked again.

"Make sure not to leave your room tonight, princess," he said, and his voice was deathly serious. "This is not a good time to be out past nightfall." Kagome stared at him for a second, registering the warning. Since she had stepped in the castle, she had a bad feeling and she found the place's atmosphere suffocating, but this confirmed her fears. Which made her actually wonder if she shouldn't have let Inuyasha do… what he wanted to do.

Except that no, she shouldn't have, she decided almost immediately. Even if it wasn't for the soldiers, there were other girls here. Girls who needed saving. She wasn't sure there was anything _she_ could do, but she felt confident Inuyasha would be able to find something. If he actually looked at her for longer than a furious glance.

"Someone will get you for dinner," the captain added, straightening up.

Kagome nodded once more, trying to keep her face calm despite the fear that slowly crept up inside her as the possibility for that man to actually know the _real_ Kikyo made her almost shiver. Despite that, she simply followed the silent maid, Inuyasha right behind her.

When they were left alone in the room, she could have cried because of how relieved she felt. She was lucky Kikyo had been considered such an eccentric princess, otherwise—

"Did ya really decide to make her reputation worse everywhere you go?" Inuyasha asked sarcastically.

She turned towards him, confused by his biting tone. He sounded way too angry for the situation. Sure, it would slow them down, but it wouldn't be too long! So she decided to simply ignore him, and asked, urgence in her voice: "Do you know if this lord knows Kikyo?"

Inuyasha looked at her with a scowl, and shrugged.

"How would I know?"

Kagome blinked a couple of times.

"You were her _bodyguard_. Shouldn't you have been near her for her encounters with other lords?"

"Nah. I would never have embarrassed her like that." Kagome didn't get to ask him how she could be embarrassed since he was her _bodyguard_ and it was literally his _job_ before he continued. "Clearly, _you_ don't have the same problem though." Kagome had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. This was seriously getting old. "Anyway, we're leaving tonight."

"What? We can't _do_ that! You heard it, right? There are lots of girls here!"

"So what? It ain't our problem, and it certainly ain't our job to take care of that. Ungai'll hear about it sooner or later and deal with it."

"But we're here now!"

Inuyasha frowned, glaring at her. "So what? What d'ya think _you_ can do about it?"

Kagome opened her mouth, ready to answer, and… Nothing. There was nothing she could do. Inuyasha sniggered.

"That's what I thought. You want _me_ to do it."

No! Well… Yes, but she had never meant to _use_ him! She had just thought that he would _want_ it too. That he would want to help all those girls who were locked here, who were most likely in danger, because Kagome couldn't think of any good reason why they could be locked in here.

That he would want to help all those girls who she could have very well been a part of.

Dammit, no matter how important the princess was, how was she more valuable than those girls? Was he, in the end, not any better than all those people who she despised?

No. She was being unfair. His reaction was an individual thing, due to what the princess meant to him, she realized. He didn't actually think that the lives of people who were just born in the right place were more important than those of servants. But she wasn't sure if it was much better.

She had no way of being absolutely certain that something was wrong with this castle, naturally but… She _felt_ it.

"Inuyasha, _please_." She was willing to beg if it made him change his mind.

"No way," he growled. "I'm leaving right after dinner. But I can leave ya there if you have a plan you can take care of by yourself…"

She felt her face burn. Truth was, she was ashamed she hadn't thought he could disagree with the idea. She should have thought about it.

"I didn't mean to force you to do anything," she mumbled.

"Of course you did," he answered, almost only for himself. "I'd guessed right before. You're letting your role get to your head."

Kagome couldn't help but feel insulted. Because wanting to save those girls made her power-crazy, naturally. Still, giving orders and using someone was not like her. Was he right? Had she thought of him as disposable? She didn't _think_ so. She had genuinely believed that he would do what was right — what she was _convinced_ was right.

"No," she hissed in response, "I was just trying to make sure no one would leave that scene injured. Do you know what happens to people like those guards, to people like _me_ , if we can't work anymore?"

She had taken a step towards him and was defying him, glaring at him furiously. He blinked at the small girl, both vaguely amused and confused. She had said 'injured'. She hadn't even said killed, or massacred. Like she didn't expect him to do that. Fuck, there she was again, making him think of things that shouldn't even cross his mind. He knew what he had seen back there. She wouldn't get him like that this time.

"You were scared of me," he retorted, using his height to try and intimidate her.

"I was scared of what would happen!" Kagome protested. "I mean, when that guard hit me you looked ready to _kill_ him!"

"Yeah, and I would have," Inuyasha answered. "And then I remembered. _You're not Kikyo_. You'd better keep that in mind too."

Kagome couldn't help but wince at the venom in his voice. What was that supposed to mean? That she was not _worth it_?

Inuyasha didn't add anything, letting himself fall in corner of the room while Kagome did the same, sitting as far from him as possible. She was _trying_ to make this thing work, but it had only been a few days, and she was already starting to feel so tired of it all. Maybe it would be easier to just give Inuyasha the same treatment she got. Maybe the awkward silence would be better than the outspoken hostility.

Inuyasha closed his eyes almost completely, looking at Kagome as discreetly as possible. He hadn't told her about the rage that had coursed through him when the guard had dared fuckin' _touch_ her, _threaten_ her. He had had to actively stop himself from attacking him, not because Kagome wasn't the princess, but because of what had just happened, which he didn't know how to interpret anymore.

There had been fear in her eyes, and at the moment, he had been convinced it was him she was afraid of. That she had remembered what everyone always said about demons, and that she was seeing him as no more than a blood-thirsty beast. But once more, he told himself that maybe, just maybe, Kagome wasn't like that. He didn't know why she was getting so upset about the situation, though. Why did she care about those people she had never met before? Wouldn't it be so much better to just get out of here while they still could?

Kagome yawned and directed her look at the door, stubbornly refusing to look at him. It almost made him smile. They were pretty similar, weren't they?

* * *

"Dinner is served, Princess," a soft voice said from the other side of the door.

Kagome jumped up, suddenly alert, and shot a look at Inuyasha, who she was surprised to find already staring at her. He simply gave her a small nod, and she felt reassured without really knowing why. He was there. He would help, if she needed him to.

…Or maybe he wouldn't, she realized. He had made it more than clear that he didn't care for her at all. Her brief feeling of relief left her as quickly as he had appeared, and she gulped down before sliding the door open, following behind the maid who had come for her, under Inuyasha's attentive eyes.

She tried to map the castle in her head as she walked, but, while she was rather good at that, she just couldn't seem to get into it this time. Maybe because she was in a life or death situation.

 _Probably_ because she was in a life or death situation.

She shivered, and prayed that the lord wouldn't know the Princess.

Then, while the maid took a step aside and bowed, she stepped into the dining room.

* * *

The Lord was sitting at the end of the table, and she bowed her head politely, only catching a glance of him and immediately looking away. It would no doubt hadn't been polite to keep staring at him, but… What was with his _appearance_? He looked surprisingly overweight for a Lord who was supposed to be able to fight, and his entire body was covered with bandages, that seemed to go under his kimono as well. What did he hide underneath it? Kagome wondered, feeling a twinge of sympathy, immediately replaced by a sensation of uneasiness, similar to what she had felt before, only even stronger.

She gave a faint smile and knelt down while two maids came in and brought dinner.

"It's a pleasure to receive you here, Princess Kikyo," the man commented, his voice weirdly hoarse, sounding almost like a cawing.

"A pleasure I share, I assure you," Kagome answered as politely as she could. "I was hoping me and my companion would be able to leave soon. We have important duties to attend to."

"Your companion? Ah, that _half-breed_. Yes, certainly, you will be able to leave tomorrow morning. I wouldn't want to keep you here longer than necessary." Kagome could _hear_ the satisfied smile in his voice, although she had no idea why he was so pleased with himself, but it only made her feel like something was even more _wrong_ here. Not to mention, guilt kept gnawing at her as she thought about all the girls who were held here. What if something bad happened to them while she was able to go freely? Would she be able to forgive herself?

On the other hand, if something bad was happening here, what good would it do if she ran straight into danger? There was nothing she _could_ do.

Except walk out of here alive.

Things did seem to be good, on that front. The Lord apparently didn't know the Princess, and she thought that she would just go back to the room, have a good night of sleep, and then Inuyasha and her would depart first thing in the morning.

That sounded great, that sounded like the perfect plan.

Sadly, it all shattered the moment a beautiful young woman, wearing a richly embroidered kimono, walked into the room. She seemed to be in great distress, and she completely ignored her to walk straight to the lord, who didn't appear to be pleased with her appearance.

"Princess Tsuyu," he cawed, "I thought I had told you not to leave your room."

"I am tired of this, my Lord," she answered, almost trembling with what could be anger, but also maybe fear, and Kagome realized that she was probably the man's wife. "I cannot bear it any longer. What has this illness done to you? You changed so much since then! I wish you would only let me help…" With those words, she reached towards his face for his bandages, only to be roughly pushed back.

Eyes wide, Kagome moved to help her, but the princess difficultly prompted herself on her elbow. There were tears in her eyes when she looked at Kagome.

"Why don't you salute the Princess Kikyo, my dear?" the Lord asked. "Surely you won't embarrass me anymore in front of her."

Kagome understood what was going to happen before the Princess had even opened her mouth.

"What princess are you talking about? I don't…"

Then, the Princess met Kagome's eyes, full with horror, and clasped her hand against her mouth, instantly understanding what she had just revealed and what it meant for the young woman who was facing her. The Lord slowly turned his frightening, completely covered face towards Kagome, who was completely frozen. What had she _done_?

"How come _you_ didn't recognize her?" Princess Tsuyu's voice suddenly asked, echoing loudly in the perfectly silent room. "She was at our _wedding_."

The Lord froze, then sighed.

"Too bad," he commented, his voice getting even worse than it already was. "You were pretty, Princess. I enjoyed looking at you. But not you, nor this fake Princess will walk out of here to _tell_ what you saw tonight.

At that, he ripped his bandages.

Kagome screamed.

* * *

Somewhere, deep inside the castle, Inuyasha stirred in his sleep, and opened his eyes with difficulty. He shouldn't have been asleep, he realized as he jumped to his feet, instantly alert. What could have forced him to lose consciousness, and more important, what had woken him up?

For a second, he only heard a perfect silence, which was not normal, as there should have been much more _life_ in the castle.

And then, he heard the scream. _Her_ scream. Inuyasha pounced.

"Kagome!"

* * *

 _Here you go! I'm a bit late, but this chapter was also a bit longer than what I usually do for this story. I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review to let me know what you think about this story, the support means a lot to me! I will see you soon!_

 _Dya._


	7. Chapter 7

Seven

There would have been no stopping him as Inuyasha ran through the castle without any hesitation, following what his nose and ears were telling him, but no one stood in his way, to the point where it became suspicious. He didn't take the time to check the guards, but he could see some of them, motionless, in his field of view. They looked… asleep. All of them. So did the maids, some of them having seemingly fallen to the ground where they stood, sometimes in the middle of the hallways. That seemed to be the case for _everybody_ in the castle apparently.

Except for him. And Kagome, from what he knew.

What the fuck was going on?

He wasn't fazed by the closed doors in front of him, and simply broke through them, the impact barely slowing him down. His eyes instantly searched for Kagome, and he couldn't help the relief that washed through him when he saw she was alive and unhurt.

The relief was short-lived, though, as he took in the fear on her face and his eyes fell on the man in front of her. He himself didn't even wince as the creature turned towards him. Green skin, toad-like…

Yeah. Definitely demon.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out, and she looked so _happy_ to see him that his heart tightened in his chest.

"So you are not the princess yet you are travelling with a half-breed," the demon croaked. "And my spell didn't work on you." An exceptionally long tongue came out of his throat to lick his almost inexistant lips. "I guess I will just have to do that the old-fashioned way." Kagome shivered in disgust and took a step back, but the creature was now entirely focused on Inuyasha, clearly not perceiving her as threat.

She felt vaguely insulted by that, but really, what _would_ he fear her for? Also, underestimating her was his mistake, because she wasn't going to just sit there and watch. Quickly, her eyes started to search the room for something that she could use. Princess Tsuyu was laying on the ground, unconscious, probably having fainted after the shocking reveal that her husband was in fact… Whatever that creature was. Kagome couldn't say she blamed her.

She finally found the torches burning against the wall, and grimaced. This was not going to be very helpful. Maybe, if she could make a run for it, she could find a soldier to come and help them. She doubted she would, since they probably wouldn't have let Inuyasha barge in here, but it was worth trying.

"Who the fuck are you and what are you doing here?" Inuyasha snarled. "I thought it was weird that there was no monk here, but I guess you took care of that, am I right?"

The creature's lips curled up in the most awful excuse for a smile Kagome had ever seen. Inuyasha did not seem disturbed, though, and she couldn't help but shiver at the thought that he had already had to face such monsters. Still, she watched the creature, waiting for the moment when she would be able to get away from him without being noticed. She was terrified and she couldn't feel her legs and her heart was beating so fast she could barely hear what was happening around her, but she refused to simply watch this happen.

"That's the thing with humans," the demon answered, apparently very satisfied with himself. "They think they're all safe behind their walls… and they forget what we are capable of." He grinned. "They even let someone like _you_ live with them."

"Don't compare us," Inuyasha bit back. "There are no similarities between a sick bastard like you and me."

"No indeed," the frog-demon admitted. "A _real_ demon would never be humans' _pet_. But then, you're just a degenerate, aren't you?"

Inuyasha growled, and started running towards the man, ignoring Kagome's loud gasp. It was only due to his fast reflexes that he managed to jump out of the way when the man's tongue shot out of his mouth, leaving a bloody trace on his cheek. He cursed as the man tasted his blood.

"You're certainly not as good as those ladies, but I'm sure that soul of yours will taste just fine!"

Inuyasha hissed angrily. Looked like he had underestimated this asshole a bit. After all, if he was able to plunge the entire castle into sleep, he couldn't be just anyone. Which didn't mean he wasn't going to take care of him. Once more, almost instinctively, he searched the room for Kagome. The girl was still behind the creature, and he didn't like that. It would be harder to protect her in this situation.

He _could not_ think about why he wanted to protect her so much right now. Especially after their last conversation — which seemed awfully childish to him now.

He jumped forwards once more, this time managing to dodge the tongue easily. The demon was relatively slow, and now that he knew of the danger, he thought he could manage it. In an inhumane leap, he got over the demon, landing in front of Kagome. He immediately turned to face the demon, his hand brushing against the young woman's waist to make sure that she stayed behind him. He felt some relief at the thought that she was there, beside him. Safe.

Wait, was she?

"You're alright?" he asked through gritted teeth. He couldn't smell blood, but that didn't mean she wasn't in shock.

"I'm fine," she answered. Despite her answer, Inuyasha felt some anger spreading through him at the way her voice was shaking, and then a weird sense of… admiration, maybe, at how well she was still doing despite the situation. "But, the Princess…"

For a second, Inuyasha's thoughts went to Kikyo, before he realized that of course, she wasn't talking about her. He glanced at the woman who was still laying on the ground. What the fuck was wrong with that girl, worrying about someone else when she was far from safe?

"Wait 'til I've taken care of that bastard," Inuyasha mumbled.

"No — Inuyasha, I have the feeling that there's human in… Well, in _there_."

He frowned, glancing briefly towards her, still making sure he didn't let the demon take him by surprise.

"Think it's a possession?" he asked curiously.

Kagome hesitated a second before nodding. She had never seen a possession before, only hearing stories, but she just had a _feeling_ that this was the situation here.

"Well, ain't nothing we can do about it," Inuyasha said. "There's no monk in the castle, and Beads won't do any good for that."

Kagome clenched her fist. She was feeling so damn helpless!

Then, suddenly, she heard Inuyasha's groan of pain, and her eyes widened when she realized that the demon had somehow gotten really close to them without them noticing. He'd seemed slow the whole time, though, so how… Before Kagome could wonder more about the situation, she realized what had just happened. His tongue had — oh, God — his tongue had _pierced_ through Inuyasha's chest. The half-demon stumbled, his back hitting her. She saw fear in his eyes when he looked at her, but she didn't have time to wonder where that fear came from. Was it fear for himself, for his life, or fear for her?

She tried to help as he fell to the ground, but she jumped back when the demon stepped towards her.

"So, girl, who are you? Why are you pretending to be a Princess?"

Kagome gulped down. Stall. She had to stall for time.

"I'm no one. The Princess got kidnapped — by a demon."

Definitely not information she was supposed to give, but at this point, she didn't see how that could hurt her. She kept walking back toward the wall, but she knew that sooner than later, she would found herself stuck. Things weren't looking too good, and she realized that she might die.

She looked back at Inuyasha, suddenly terrified. It couldn't be. Was he…? No, he was still struggling to get up, glaring furiously at the back of the demon. He looked in no condition to be fighting, though, which meant that she was the one who needed to get them out of here. Sadly, she had absolutely no idea of how she could be doing that.

She noticed the demon had stopped walking as she got closer to the wall, and she squinted, trying to figure out what was happening. He didn't need to be close to her to kill her, as he had already proved, but still, that was weird.

"And what kind of idiot would _dare_ kidnapping a Princess who's also a priestess?"

Even though he was now immobile, Kagome kept walking until she found herself with her back against the wall. The more distance between her and the creature, the better. She also naively hoped maybe she'd be able to dodge his attack, if she had time to react. Although, since he had managed to get Inuyasha, she was aware that it wasn't very realistic.

"His name was Naraku," she answered.

She saw the shock in the creature's eyes as they widened. That was her chance, and probably the only one she'd be getting. Diving, she grabbed a torch from the wall. There was a tiny, tiny possibility that this was why he hadn't walked towards her. But then, there was also a 'tiny, tiny possibility' that it was because there was some monster right there and he was trying to feed her to that. She had no idea.

The demon frowned at the sight. He didn't seem particularly worried, though, and for a split second, Kagome visualized how ridiculous she probably looked, a little girl with fire in her hand. But she would _not_ go down without a fight. Even if said fight appeared to be rather pathetic.

"You are a feisty little thing, aren't you?" the demon smiled. "Your soul will taste all the better."

She would really like it better if he stopped talking about how she would _taste_.

"Don't come near me," she warned, waving the torch in front of her.

The creature did seem a bit more nervous when the fire moved in front of its eyes, but he tried to laugh it off.

"Come, now, wouldn't you rather a painless death?"

"I'd rather not die at all!"

"Well then…" with a sigh, the creature leaped, and that's when Kagome understood how he'd gotten Inuyasha. The movement was surprisingly fast, but more importantly, he jumped incredibly high.

'Huh, I guess he _is_ a frog after all,' a part of Kagome's mind that was way too detached from the situation commented inwardly.

The rest of her body had a better survival instinct, though, and realizing that while he was in the air, he couldn't go after her, she started to run. For what exactly, she wasn't sure, but for now, she was focused on surviving, right here and now. She hadn't planned for his tongue to dart out of his mouth and to hit her shoulder with a lot of strength, sending her falling down with a cry of pain.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, the rage allowing him to prop himself onto his elbows and to slowly, painfully get up. He would use the Blades of Blood to save her if that was the last thing he did.

 _Wait, no. I can't die. I need to save Kikyo._

The thought made him freeze for a second — just a second, which was already too long, which was already enough time for the frog-demon to jump again and to land right above Kagome. The girl shrieked, extending her hand, desperately trying to grab the torch that had fallen to the ground, just a little out of her reach.

The demon laughed, leaning towards her, while his disgusting, long tongue slowly came to lick her cheek, making her wince back in disgust. Inuyasha growled, taking a difficult step towards the demon, his hand clenched against his chest. His claws were already digging in a little, not enough yet to use the Blades, but still drawing blood.

His growl made the demon turn towards him. Inuyasha immediately understood what he was going to do, getting ready to dodge the attack that would no doubt come, and to retaliate with an attack of his own. His last one. Anger and fear had erased his previous doubts from his mind.

"Pathetic," the frog-demon commented. "But I guess I couldn't expect much better from a _half-breed_."

And that's when Kagome's fingers closed around the torch.

With a scream, she pushed it directly into the frog's face, putting all her energy, all her despair and all her fear into the gesture.

The pulsation went through the creature, strong enough for Inuyasha to feel it as well.

This was not just her movement. This was…

 _Power_.

He stared at her, dumbfounded, while the demon fell back, screaming, and that his body shrunk, becoming a much smaller human. Kagome was trembling, unable to explain the exhaustion that was suddenly falling on her, watching the body spasm, until a very small frog hopped out of the man's mouth. She blinked as the frog glared at her — since when did frog _glare_? — and watch it try to hop away, only to be squashed under Inuyasha's foot. He gave a disgusted scowl, and then he looked at her.

Time froze as she tried to decrypt his emotions, unable to move under the golden stare. The events of the battle were slowly starting to take their place in her mind, and to make sense, as she hadn't been able to take them into consideration earlier.

He had called her Kagome.

She tried to stand up on her shaky legs. Inuyasha instinctively took a step forward — whether it was to help her or to tell her to stay down, none of them had any idea — and while doing so, collapsed.

Kagome looked at his unconscious form for a couple of seconds, still unable to work things out correctly. Then, with a cry, she jumped next to him.

"Inuyasha!"

"Wh-what happened?" Kagome barely paid attention to the princess who was just regaining consciousness. "My Lord, he was… My Lord!"

"Princess Tsuyu— My dear— I am _so_ —"

"I need help!" Kagome finally snapped. She knew the two were probably so happy to be reunited, and probably both traumatized at the recent events, but right now she could not have cared less. Inuyasha was laying on the ground in front of her, and their reunion could wait until he was safe, dammit!

The princess took a careful step towards her.

"But… He's a half-demon…"

Kagome shot her a furious glare.

"I'll take care of him myself," she said through gritted teeth, angrily remembering the words of Inuyasha saying that she couldn't abuse her power. "But I need to move him to another room — and the packages on my horse." Thank Queen Kaede for giving her a first-aid kit. She hadn't expected that she would need to use it before they reached the land of demons, but God was she thankful for it now.

"My dear — They killed the demon," the Lord softly said to the Princess.

The young woman nodded, now determined. She hadn't pieced it all together yet, but the silver-haired man looked dying, and she wasn't going to just let that happen.

"I'll give orders. Can you help them move?"

It was the Lord's time to nod, and they exchanged a fond but brief glance. They would have all the time in the world, but later. For now, they had a life to save.

He knelt down besides Kagome while the Princess stepped out.

"Can you help me?" he asked gently.

Kagome was already reaching for Inuyasha's arm. He grunted, still globally unconscious, while the Lord and the young woman carried him across the room. Kagome made no comment on the fact that it was the Lord himself who was helping them. She had lived relatively protected from racial visions, and she was just starting to understand how much they mattered in the world in which they lived.

No one would have touched a half-demon.

She was _so_ angry. But she was also scared for his life, and she just wanted to make sure he was okay.

The Lord and her carefully laid Inuyasha down in a room nearby, before the Lord stepped out, apologizing but talking about having 'things to do'. If he had been conscious during the entire time when he was possessed by the demon, Kagome could only guess that he had lots of things to take care of. Not that she cared right now, though.

She stood up again when a maid came in with the bags she had requested, and by the time she turned to face Inuyasha, he was already trying to sit up.

"Don't move!" she hissed.

Ignoring her and grunting in pain at every movement, he sat against the wall. Kagome held back a curse.

"Fine," she sighed, "just _don't stand up_."

It wasn't like he could have if he wanted to. She knelt beside him, quickly rummaging through her bags.

"The fuck are you doing?" Inuyasha mumbled. He had trouble articulating, and he had trouble assessing the situation. Everything seemed and felt like a blur. He was vaguely conscious of pain in his chest, and even more of how weak he felt, probably because of the loss of blood.

She finally pulled out the bandages and the balm she was looking for.

"What do you _think_ I'm doing? You're _hurt_."

Inuyasha observed her, confused, still not completely sure of what was happening. He did frown deeply when she moved to open his suikan, though.

"Stop that," he growled, grabbing her wrists. He felt completely overwhelmed, particularly with the state he was in right now. Kagome felt like a flame dancing around him, filling his senses with her smell, her touch and the sound of her voice.

"How am I supposed to take care of your injuries if I can't see them?" she responded, fighting him and managing to free herself fairly easily because of his state.

"You're _not_ ," he answered, although his hands fell lifelessly to the ground, abandoning that fight that felt like it was already lost. "That's not why Kaede gave you that. I'll be healed in two days anyway."

If he hadn't been in that state, Kagome would probably have hit him.

"So you're not in pain, huh?"

"'f course I am. I just…"

"Then why don't you just _let me_ , Inuyasha?" she asked, stilling herself. "Sure, maybe you'll survive it, but you don't _have_ to be in pain!"

He didn't answer anything to that, simply scoffing and looking away from her, with maybe the faintest blush on his cheeks, but there wasn't enough light for Kagome to be sure of that. Deciding that this marked his defeat, she continued undressing him, until finally his torso was freed from his clothing. Her eyes travelled down his muscled chest, and widened when she realized two things.

One, that the wound she had seen being inflicted to him _had already practically closed_ , and two, the enormous scar that marked it. She reached out, and Inuyasha tensed almost violently when her fingers softly brushed against the skin.

"Oh my God. What…"

"Night when Kikyo was kidnapped," he answered without looking at her, sucking in a sharp breath to try and force himself to ignore the feeling of her skin against his.

"And you survived _that_?" No wonder he thought she was being ridiculous with her attentions!

"I'm still not fully recovered," Inuyasha admitted, "but yeah. I'm not weak like you humans."

Kagome frowned at his words, completely ignoring his bragging.

"You're not recovered now, but you were already investigating and walking around the next day?" she asked cautiously.

"It was needed," Inuyasha answered with a shrug.

Kagome wanted to scream. _What_ was he trying to accomplish, dammit? What good did he think would come out of putting himself through so much pain? Didn't he care about it? More importantly, didn't _anyone_ care about it? Had no one told him that he shouldn't be doing that to himself?

In an almost angry gesture, she opened the small box in which the balm was, taking some in her hand, and, as gently and softly as she could, started to apply it.

Inuyasha had to stop himself from shivering under her fingers. The touch sent weird sensations throughout his body, burning ones despite how fresh her hand was against his hot body.

"You're burning up," Kagome commented, focused on her task.

"What's this?" Inuyasha asked, fighting himself to keep an annoyed voice and not show her that he actually did appreciate it.

"It's a balm. It should help healing — not that you really need it — and diminish your pain." There was a small silence before she spoke again. She wasn't sure if she should ask, if she wasn't going to bring back unpleasant memories, but at the same time, the more she knew about Inuyasha's life, the more she found what felt like incoherences to her. "You've… never used something like that? What did you do when you got hurt?"

Inuyasha tried to shrug, only to feel Kagome's hand press just a little harder on his chest as she glared at him.

"Don't move," she protested.

His mouth twitched, almost moving into a grin.

"Sometimes, Ungaï's monks were dicks to me," he recalled. "They didn't like it too much that a half-demon worked in the castle, and even less that he was supposed to be the one protecting the princess. But I didn't do anything about the pain. It wasn't like anyone would have cared…"

Kagome waited, having already finished the sentence in her head.

"…and I didn't want to bother Kikyo about it."

Kagome bit her lip to stop herself for commenting on it. The more she knew about Inuyasha's relationship with Kikyo, the more she thought there was something terribly wrong with it. Did Kikyo really not know about what he was going through? If so, did she not care? If not, how could she not at least think about it, consider the possibility that warrior-monks trained to fight demons wouldn't appreciate his presence in the castle?

She stopped herself there. She didn't know the princess, and it was possible that these were just Inuyasha's way of thinking about it. Maybe he misunderstood her. Still, it didn't sit all too well with her, the idea that no one had cared for Inuyasha before, had stopped him from being hurt or helped him after he had been.

"Feeling better?" she asked, her voice soft.

"Keh. 's not like I needed it, wench," Inuyasha mumbled. "…but it does feel a little better." Kagome smiled, oblivious to his blush. Oblivious to how he didn't know whether it was the balm or her touch that was actually helping.

"You called me Kagome," she said.

"W-what?"

"When the demon nearly killed me. I heard you. You called me Kagome."

She was smiling, but Inuyasha felt a dreadful cold burn through his chest as guilt suddenly flooded through him. She had nearly died back then. Because of him. Because he had hesitated.

Because he needed to save Kikyo. He knew where his loyalty laid, he knew what he was there to do, he knew if he had to sacrifice her, he would do it — he should do it. And yet, back then, he would have died for her. He would have forgotten everything about his mission, which would have meant hell for Kikyo. He couldn't do that again, he couldn't let her confuse him anymore. And she _knew_ what they were here to do. If he was going to lost sight of his objective, he had to distance himself from her.

But here she was, trying to heal his wounds, trying to lessen his pain despite knowing that he didn't need it.

Fuck. _Fuck_.

"Here you go," she concluded when she was finally satisfied. "Try to get a good night of sleep, okay? We'll leave tomorrow morning if you're feeling better, but I think we're safe for now."

She helped him lay down on a futon despite his protests, and he had to admit, he did need some rest. Not much, of course, because he wasn't weak like her, but just a couple of hours. And it would feel nice not to be on the qui vive all the time.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," she said softly.

Dumb bitch. She shouldn't thank him. Not with what he was ready to do.

And he shouldn't care. He shouldn't care at all. It made him all the more angry, that it was becoming increasingly hard to ignore his conscience and to blame it all on her. It had been easy at first, but now, it started to seem more and more that what he had been sent to do was just _disgusting_.

He felt disgusting.

Still, he clung on to her voice when she had thanked him, to how she had said his name, without any disgust and with such fondness, as he drifted into sleep.

* * *

 _Oh my God this was so hard to write for some reason. It took me forever! I hope you enjoyed it! I think this is starting to give an answer to the question I was asked in the first chapter on whether or not Kagome had spiritual powers in this! Please leave a review if you have enjoyed this chapter, they really do help a lot, and thanks to everyone who left one on the last chapter, it is always great to receive feedback! I'll hopefully see you soon,_

 _Dya._


	8. Chapter 8

Eight

When Kagome awoke, Inuyasha was already up and stretching. Instinctively, she felt the need to stop him, but she held herself back when she remembered what he kept repeating her. That he was a demon, and that therefore his body could take much more than hers. He also usually looked more insulted than happy with her concern. Still, she couldn't help herself but let something slip.

"Are you _sure_ you should be doing that already?" she questioned with a grimace when he started jumping as though he was testing his legs.

He turned towards her, looking slightly surprised by the sound of her voice, and Kagome thought she hadn't seen his shoulders tense, as they usually did. She wasn't too sure what that meant, and it seemed too small for her to actually dwell on it. But it was a bit unusual for him.

"We're leaving today," Inuyasha answered, his voice as rough and annoyed as it always was. "There's no choice."

Kagome frowned. She was starting to get really tired of his self-destructive attitude and the 'there is something more important than me at stake'. She knew many people would find it noble, moving, maybe even romantic — if they thought a half-demon could be those things — but she had a hard time feeling the same. If it was the only solution, she didn't find it to be so noble, and if it wasn't, she certainly couldn't see why it _would_ be. Self-sacrifice just wasn't her thing.

"We could wait one more day, if it meant you got to rest," she retorted. "It would…"

"We _can't_. We already lost enough time with the stunt you pulled yesterday," he snarled. "We're not stopping anymore."

The young woman rolled her eyes. Here they were, again. Well, she was done fighting him on that. If he wanted to exhaust himself and to take the risk that his body would stop functioning, then he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

That didn't mean that she wouldn't nag him about it and tell him how right she was when she would, undoubtedly, prove to be.

"Fine," she sighed, already capitulating, much to the half-demon's surprise. "We should eat and leave quickly, then. You're not going to stop me from eating, are you?"

She shot him a fiery look, and he realized that apparently, she had admitted that she had lost this battle, but not the war yet. Part of him felt that she trying to make sure that _he_ would eat, but nah, there was no way she could be that smart — or manipulative.

"Sure, let's eat," he answered on the same tone.

Truth was, Inuyasha felt a bit _weird_ about her, today. Before, keeping her away from him had been purely normal, just his usual way to deal with people. He had noticed, of course, that Kagome wasn't _completely_ like other people, but he had done his best not to think about it and to find explanations to her behavior. Until he could no longer ignore it.

He followed her out of the room. No maids had come to look for them, and they soon understood why when they walked into the dining room where everything had happened the night before. The castle was swarming with people, and more specifically, with young women.

Inuyasha almost instinctively grabbed Kagome's wrist, starting to drag her across them, having smelled the Princess and the Lord. If he didn't, he'd no doubt lose her among those people, although, now that he thought about it, her smell was much nicer than theirs, and he had no idea why he hadn't noticed that as soon as he had met her. Maybe it had grown on him.

He pulled her with him, and vaguely thought about how small her wrist was, and how her skin was surprisingly soft and warm and… Wait. _Why_ was he _touching_ her? And more importantly, _why_ didn't _she_ have anything to say about it?

Realizing what he was doing, he froze, letting go of her as though he had just burnt himself, and Kagome bumped into his back. He turned towards her, trying to see what her emotions was. She blinked when she noticed how worried he looked — not worried, _terrified_.

"Are you feeling okay, Inuyasha? We should get you something to eat quickly, you're very pale. You probably lost too much blood last night."

 _Demon blood my ass. Take that._ But she was a little worried for him now, so she didn't say anything. She would gloat about it later.

Inuyasha was still staring at her, as he searched for signs of disgust, of hatred, of 'I can't believe this _thing_ dared touching me'.

There were none. Just her bright blue eyes looking up at him and expecting him to say something.

"Yeah. Food," he finally said, and his voice sounded raspy even to his ears. Kagome tilted her head, and clearly wasn't all that convinced, but she just shrugged it off and didn't ask anything, taking that as another proof of her being right. Ha.

Inuyasha's hand turned into a fist and his jaw tightened while he turned his back on her, keeping track of her with his nose to make sure that she was following him. He was terribly confused.

Of course, he knew that Kagome had had no problems with touching him the night before, and she hadn't really seemed disgusted at the time, but he was… Well, not dying, but very seriously injured, although he hadn't let her know that. Things were different now, and yet her behavior didn't change. Even if he had tried to convince himself that she was acting — and he _had_ — his nose told him she wasn't. She was completely sincere.

He should really stop trying to fight this now. If he did, maybe it would stop taking him by surprise. Maybe it would stop getting to him like that. He clenched his teeth, hard. This wasn't good. He knew it wasn't good.

But it felt _nice_.

They finally found the Lord and the Princess, who were both busying themselves, and it took a moment before they managed to talk to them. Once they were noticed, they were lead in another room, in which food was served to them, much to Inuyasha's surprise. He was used to being ignored even for that sort of things.

Him and Kagome started eating without a word, and she was preparing to break the silence when the Lord and Princess Tsuyu walked into the room. Kagome and Inuyasha stood up, and Kagome respectfully bowed her head.

"Oh please— Don't," the Princess told her with a soft and kind voice. "You don't need to be paying us your respects. If anything, we should be the one thanking you."

"I'm also very sorry that we weren't able to be of assistance to you last night when your friend was hurt," the Lord added quickly. "There was… a lot that needed to be taken care of then."

Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha just couldn't _not_ notice how she didn't correct him about him. 'Friend', he'd said. Were they friends? He had no idea. It wasn't like he'd had one before.

Well. There was Kikyo. But… The word 'friend' just really didn't seem to be fitting for her. He didn't know how to qualify their relationship, and the thought was exactly almost painful, so he did his best to push it out of his mind. He had a feeling he'd been doing that a lot, lately.

"It's okay," she answered. "Inuyasha's fine now, and we saw all those girls outside. Were they—"

The Lord nodded with a sigh, and as his eyes became distant, the Princess grabbed and squeezed his hand in a discreet but tender gesture of affection that didn't go unnoticed by the pair, making Kagome smile happily. She was glad they had managed to save the Lord instead of killing him, although she had no idea _how_ that had been possible. But thinking back on it…

It had been _her_ , hadn't it? She… She'd _felt_ something, back then. She didn't really understand any of it, and even if she may have the slightest idea about it, she wasn't all too sure where it could come from. Sure, her grandfather had been a priest, but from what she remembered, his so-called ofudas had never worked, and she had never though there were _actual_ spiritual powers in her family. That was, if what she had done really was about that, and hadn't been dumb luck.

But she was pretty sure that dumb luck wouldn't have felt as though something so _strong_ was going through her.

"I would tell you to feel free to stay here longer," the Princess said, "but from what I gathered, the two of you are out to help Princess Kikyo, aren't you?"

Inuyasha nodded, and was surprised to see Kagome turn to look at him, silently asking him either what she could tell, or for him to answer. Which… Yeah. He was starting to get used to it, to her treating him like he was her equal, but it felt dangerous. He had to keep in mind that no one would ever treat him like that. He couldn't act like it was normal.

"That's right," he answered, clearing his throat and noticing the surprise in the couple's eyes when he spoke. "This is all strictly confidential," he added, a low rumble starting in his throat, the threat obvious, "but there was an incident at the Castle and I was sent with Kagome for help." He was voluntarily remaining as vague as possible. The Queen had been very clear about it, and they couldn't risk weakening their influence by letting them know that they had been attacked like that.

Kagome held back a small victory smile. He had called her Kagome, _again_ , and he didn't even seem to have noticed. It made her feel… She didn't know how it made her feel. It sent a weird heat in her chest, right where her heart was. It was surprisingly nice.

"Which is why we will be leaving really soon," she added, completing the half-demon's informations as soon as he went back to his silence. "As I'm sure you can guess, we hadn't planned on stopping here." She was trying her best to be as polite as possible. Due to the fact that her and Inuyasha had saved both of them the day before, she didn't feel all that intimidated by them despite their difference of status, but she certainly didn't want to take the risk to anger them. You never knew, with nobles.

Inuyasha grunted beside her, giving his approval.

"Absolutely!" the Princess answered eagerly. "Is there anything you might need? A new horse, food, or money maybe?"

"It should be fine," Inuyasha responded again. "I know of the inns where it's possible to stop, and it would mostly slow us down." He took a second to consider the proposition around the horse, but ended up deciding against it. Kagome wasn't a great rider, and she had gotten used to the animal, at least a little, so it would probably be better if they kept it.

The Princess and the Lord appeared to be a little disappointed by his answers, but they didn't dare trying to contradict the scary half-demon. They soon excused themselves, apologizing profusely to Kagome and keeping their distance from Inuyasha. They were going to try to get the girls home the best they could.

"Hurry up," Inuyasha grunted when they were gone. Kagome rolled her eyes, but didn't answer. She was starting to understand that this attitude was a part of him, but if wasn't the _only_ one. She wasn't completely sure that the other parts were worth putting up with that, but just in case, she was willing to give him a chance.

That didn't stop her from shooting him a glare and from eating maybe just a little slower than she could have.

Ha. That would teach him.

* * *

Inuyasha was nervous, and he didn't like it. He wasn't used to being nervous. In fact, he was _never_ nervous. Sure, whenever he was around Kikyo, or at least close enough for her to be aware of what he was doing, he made sure to always be on his best behavior, but he wouldn't have called that being nervous. He was eager to please her and afraid of disappointing her, and… Well, maybe some people would have called that nervous, but the thing was, that was nothing like how he was feeling around Kagome.

He had no idea where it came from, or what it was all about, but it was — weird.

What made him nervous about Kagome had nothing to do with his behavior, though, and everything to do with _her_. Or, well, how he reacted when she was there.

He knew that, technically, probably, it was good that she treated him like that, but it mostly just scared him. He had a hard time forgetting that there always was a possibility that she could turn on him, and maybe that was why he was so afraid. She made him _want_ to give her his trust, made him _hope_. Which meant he could get hurt, get betrayed.

But he was starting to think that maybe — just maybe — the strange sensations he got when she was around or when she treated him normally were worth it, which only terrified him even more in return. Because if he felt like that, how would it feel if she betrayed him?

And then, there was the fact that he was starting to trust her.

He didn't trust anybody. Maybe Kikyo, but if anything, he expected her to do the right thing for the kingdom, not for him. Even Kikyo didn't know about…

"Inuyasha? Is everything okay?" Kagome's voice came from right beside him, and he realized that he had slow down enough for her to arrive next to him. Was he already so accustomed to her presence that he let her get that close to him?

Or maybe, given what she'd done to the demon…

"Since when are ya a priestess?" he practically barked at her, watching her frown and maybe feeling a small discomfort as he saw her expression. It was soon replaced by surprise, though, and there was that weird thought, in the back of her mind, that he liked that a little better.

"I'm… not," she said slowly, as though she herself was trying to entangle her thoughts. "I had never…" She made a gesture of the hand. "You know."

"Huh." It was the first time he heard of something like that. Most children with spiritual powers were noticed really early by the headman of their village, and generally sent to the Castle for training. Then, depending on their level of power, they would either become warrior monks, or be sent back to a village, which they would protect. There were still some people who trained with itinerant monks, or with their local priest or priestess, but Inuyasha had heard that this getting rarer and rarer. "It's not common in your family?"

"Well, my grandfather was a priest, but I don't think anything he did ever actually _worked_. And I've never heard of that on my mom's side."

"You'd never met a demon before, had you?"

Kagome took a minute to think about it, before shaking her head. "Not that I know of, no. Well, except…" She eyed him, a little embarrassed, but for once, Inuyasha didn't mind the reminder to his nature. Because he _was_ a half-demon, and yet nothing in her had reacted to him. Perhaps because she hadn't perceived him as a threat.

"That's weird," he finally snorted. "You should try to get some training after this whole thing's done. 't would probably pay better than being a maid."

Much to his surprise, Kagome actually grimaced at that. "Yeah, well, maybe, but the training takes years, and I've heard that it's pretty terrible for the people who are there. Plus, I'm… well, old for that. I wouldn't want anyone to suspect that I had been hidden on purpose."

Silence fell between them, and Inuyasha realized that she was right. He had a hard time thinking that the men who were so quick to try and 'teach him his place' used to be children who were separated to his parents, and to be honest, he couldn't say he gave a fuck. Their sob story didn't give them the right to harass him, and he wasn't going to pity them. Still, it made sense why some people would want to spare their child from this life.

Also… He didn't have enough experience with parents to think that they would risk their life for their children. Or maybe he had, but he was rusty with that stuff. Parents hadn't been a normal component of his life for a very long time. It was almost weird to be reminded that they were a normal element for almost everyone else.

"D'ya think that's what happened?" he asked.

Kagome bit her lip, hesitating. "I have no idea. Mama doesn't seem like the type of person who would do that. But…" There were all those things about demons, and how she had been raised, that made her wonder more and more if there was more to her mom than she had always thought. "I don't know."

Comfortable silence fell back between them, and Kagome found herself smiling a little at what had just happened. It had been her talking about herself, but Inuyasha had _asked_. And maybe it was only because of her powers, although she doubted that because he definitely hadn't sounded afraid, but she was still happy about it. She wanted to learn more about him, however this didn't feel like the right time, and she only hoped that she'd get him to open up about himself in time.

* * *

This time again, they managed to reach an inn. It was a little later than the last time though, and Kagome couldn't help but feel worried when she saw Inuyasha tensing up next to her. It wasn't much, as the guy definitely didn't show his emotions, but she was starting to be able to see it, and she could only understand too much why it was.

Approaching a place where there might be a monk or a priestess at night, or even just at twilight, as they were doing right now, especially with his appearance, was a risk for him. You never knew how people could react.

Imperceptibly, Kagome slowed her horse down, progressively, until they were both just walking, and Inuyasha's shoulders seemed to relax. He shot her a glance, frowning, and she found herself blushing. He'd obviously guessed what her intentions were, and for some reason, it made her feel as though she had been caught red-handed.

Inuyasha watched Kagome as her face turned red and she looked away from him. He had been annoyed when he had understood that she was trying to protect him, because he could fucking protect himself, but _this_ he didn't understand. What did it mean? She didn't look scared, but he couldn't think of any other reason why she would want to avoid meeting his eyes, and his ears drooped a little at the thought that he had done something to scare her.

"Do you want me to send your food to you, or will you join me tonight?" Kagome asked after clearing her throat.

Inuyasha scoffed at her attempt at small talk, guessing she was trying to distract him from… He wasn't sure. "I'll join," he muttered after a second of thought. Not because he wanted to, or because he enjoyed her company but because… Because… Because her food could get poisoned and that way he'd be there to eventually smell it.

"That's great," Kagome commented, and he could _hear_ the smile in her voice as she said that, and it was so _weird_ , to think that anyone aside from Kikyo would be happy that he was there.

They stopped their conversation when two men came out of the inn, and Inuyasha recognized one of them as being one of Ungai's monks. Real dick, and real powerful.

"Stop right where you are!" he shouted.

Kagome gulped down, and maneuvered her horse so that she stopped in front of Inuyasha. Usually, it would have annoyed him, but for once, he actually felt thankful. That guy wouldn't have hesitated before taking him down.

"That's right, and don't move!"

He started walking towards them, followed by the other guy, who Inuyasha could only guess was his apprentice.

When he arrived in front of them, he examined them carefully. He was rarely ever at the castle, probably hadn't been there in more than a year, so he probably thought that they _looked_ familiar, but he could probably mistake Kagome for Kikyo. There was no way he wouldn't identify Inuyasha, though.

"You're not the princess," he said after a few moments, though, and Inuyasha cursed inwardly. "What is this about? Get her down from her horse," he ordered to his apprentice.

The boy, who was probably around fifteen, nodded sternly and grabbed Kagome's wrist, before yanking at her. Inuyasha's eyes widened with anger, and he took a step forward, growling at them.

"Step back, _half-breed_ ," the monk hissed. "Don't think I'll hesitate to destroy you."

"Hurt her, and nothing will stop me from ripping your fucking hearts out," Inuyasha answered on the same tone. "We were sent here by the _Queen_ , asshole."

"I'll pass on your language _just this once_ , half-breed, if you happen to have any proof of what you're assessing." The monk's smug smile spoke clearly about what he thought. He assumed Inuyasha was lying, and the half-demon saw the moment coming when he'd attack. He got ready for receiving it when…

"We _do_ , actually," Kagome spat, breaking free of the other man's grip. "It's in the bags."

The monk appeared to be almost disappointed at her words, but with a movement of the head, he pointed at the other to go check what she had said. It brought Inuyasha's attention back to Kagome. Even though she held her head high, he could tell she wasn't all that reassured, and he could only guess she hadn't had the nicest encounters with soldats and monks at the palace either.

He noticed the way she rubbed her wrist, her face tightening with pain, and a flash of anger ran through him, as well as the urge to fucking destroy the man who had dared hurting her.

The man handed a letter to the monk, and Inuyasha watched him read it as he silently stepped in front of Kagome, making sure she was behind him. He had to almost _physically_ resist the urge to reach out to touch her, to make sure she was okay.

What the fuck was up with him and wanting to touch her anyway? First this morning, now this?

"Huh," the man said. "Looks like… You're right." There was only confusion when he looked up at them, and Inuyasha even saw fear in his eyes. He had no idea what was in there — not like he could read — but even though he guessed Kaede hadn't been that explicit, it appeared it had been enough to scare him. Which was good news.

"I apologize for our reactions, Milady," he said, bowing at Kagome. "I assumed you were impersonating the Princess. I had no idea that this was the… situation. If you'll let me, I'll escort you in the inn."

A wave of uneasiness passed through Inuyasha. He didn't like the idea of leaving Kagome with him alone all that much. He knew that he was defenseless against a monk, and he fucking hated it, but still.

However, Kagome defiantly rose her chin, and shook her head. "Thank you, sir, but we don't need your help." Her tone was firm and definitive. She put her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, and the contact, although it was soft, surprised him. "Let's go, Inuyasha."

* * *

It took a little more than a hour before Kagome was settled in her room. She was quick to open the window so that Inuyasha could get in, and while she waited, she examined her wrist. There was a bruise, and although she guessed it would only take a couple of days to heal, it hurt a bit.

"Lemme see that," Inuyasha's voice suddenly mumbled, right next to her. Before she could say anything, he had carefully gotten hold of her arm and was examining her wrist as though it had been made of porcelain. Which, given how strong he was, was possibly true for him.

She noticed how careful he was at not letting his claws hurt her, but also, how his large hands enveloped her. Finally, he let go of it with a growl. "'s not broken."

He stepped away from her again, almost fleeing her presence, and sat down a little further, almost immediately starting to eat. With a sigh, Kagome joined. They ate in silence. She was much more tired than she wanted to admit to herself, and the last experience of the day had been awful, even if she didn't want to say it out loud — both because she didn't want to worry Inuyasha, and because she wasn't sure he'd care anyway.

As for Inuyasha, he was furious, and anger seemed to be creating a hole in his stomach. He was used to being monks' target, and his demon blood made it particularly easy for them to torment him, but he was mad that he hadn't been able to do anything for _her_. It was unfair, and it felt disgusting that they would abuse her in that way. Plus, he wasn't stupid. He could tell Kagome wasn't fine, he could guess that even though it wasn't broken, her wrist probably hurt.

He just couldn't do anything about it.

He felt _so_ powerless.

Kagome finished eating in silent, and he couldn't help but notice that she hadn't eaten much, which he didn't like, but didn't comment on. He could have said something about how it would only make her weaker, however for tonight, he chose to abstain from that. If she didn't eat again tomorrow, he wouldn't contain himself though.

She expected him to go take a spot next to the window, like last time, but on the contrary, he went to sit next to her, against the wall. Huh. Things had really changed, after the events with the demon, hadn't they? She opened her eyes when she heard the movement, and tried to look at him, to read in his eyes what he was doing that for, but he had already closed his eyes — maybe on purpose.

Still, it made her feel _safe_.

Kagome easily fell asleep that night.

* * *

 _Oh thank God I finally finished this! I'm so sorry this took me forever, I hope I'll manage to get other chapters out faster (I know I basically said that last time... I can't promise anything but I'll definitely try). Thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter, the (desperate) review I got recently was actually what gave me the boost I needed to finish this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, please let me know what you thought of it — as I said, reviews really help! Hopefully I'll see you soon,_

 _Dya._


	9. Chapter 9

Nine

After the incident with the monk at the inn, Inuyasha and Kagome seemed to settle in a comfortable routine. They would travel all day, though Inuyasha now didn't complain when Kagome asked to stop to eat. Well, maybe he _did_ complain a little, but he still stopped immediately, and she appreciated that, though she wasn't sure why he felt the need to act that annoyed. She knew they needed to save the princess, that they were in a hurry, but she still had, like, basic needs.

They talked a little while they travelled, or at dinner. Not much, because Kagome didn't dare asking about Inuyasha's childhood — she could only guess how sensitive that was, and she didn't want to go back to awkward silence. She got him to open up, a little, on some good memories, mostly about his mom, who was apparently human. He never mentioned the bad stuff, but she could see it on his face, in the way he frowned and his eyes became distant. She didn't think he even noticed it, and she made sure to leave him to his memories, not feeling yet that it would be okay to ask him about it.

Inuyasha actually got more involved in her past, and she was more than happy to share with him. He had freaked out quite a bit when she had teared up talking about her family, and she had chuckled at his reaction, embarrassed.

"I'm okay. It's just… I haven't seen them in a very long time. I miss them. And, well, papa and grandpa… I won't see them again."

He'd mumbled something, but after that, she'd noticed him being extra careful when he talked about that stuff.

That gave her mixed feelings. On the one hand, she appreciated that he was being considerate of her, but at the same time, she did want to tell him that there was no need for that. Yes, she got sad, she cried… But it was all _normal_. She had lost people who were very important to her, some permanently. It was okay to cry when you were hurt.

She thought it had to do with him more than with her. That he couldn't let himself think like that, because he couldn't handle his pain like that. He could only try to shut it all out and ignore it.

She wasn't completely right. Sure, that was part of it, and then there was all that thing that Inuyasha couldn't let himself be weak in any way, something she still understood. She didn't realize how much his weakness and his pain would have been taken advantage of in the past if he hadn't succeeded in shutting it all out, though.

And she certainly didn't realize that he also didn't want to make her cry.

It had hit him with such strength that he had almost started to shake when he'd smelt her salty tears. He didn't know where that organic reaction came from, but suddenly he wanted to be near her, to hold her, to wipe the tears away, to… To make sure she'd never cry again.

Instead, he had just tensed awkwardly, vaguely making a gesture to touch her in a comforting manner before letting his arm fall back down while clearing his throat.

"You okay?" he had asked, his voice rougher than usual, and definitely rougher than he'd wanted to make it sound — but he didn't think she had picked up on it.

She had smiled softly, chuckling a little, and that had almost crushed him. She had nodded, given him an explanation, and all he could think about what how _sad_ she looked. He knew there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't bring her grandfather and her father back, but thinking that he was playing a part in keeping her away from the rest of her family did make him feel uneasy.

No, that was a fucking understatement.

It made him feel terrible.

Kagome had nothing to with this. Nothing to do with Kikyo, nothing to do with the old had — ahem, queen Kaede —, and in the end, nothing to do with him. Yet, she was stuck here with the promise of getting money at the end of their journey, once they'd brought Kikyo back. That was, if Kagome made it back too.

If she didn't… He'd be the one who'd have to make her trade places and, truth be told, he was less and less sure he'd be capable to do it.

He'd have to though.

He wasn't like Kaede, or even like Kikyo. He didn't care much about what would happen to the country if there wasn't an heir, didn't care if there was a succession war. Those humans meant nothing to him, and Inuyasha didn't like nor care for more people. All he cared about was Kikyo. She'd saved his life, she had been there for him when no one else had. Even she hadn't been the only person who had been nice to him in years, he would _owe_ it to her.

He wasn't stupid, nor deaf. He knew what people said. He could stand the ones who talked about pity, but some of them had implied there was… a relationship of another nature between the princess and him.

That, he couldn't stand. Kikyo's reputation shouldn't be damaged by that. Kikyo was untouchable, and he hated that something like that now tainted her. It was all false, of course, and even though there were moments when he'd wondered _what_ their relationship was — a moment when their eyes met, their hands touching briefly… — he knew that there was no way anything like _that_ could take place between them.

Because she was a princess, and he was a lowly half-breed.

He knew it.

That was just one more reason why he _should_ sacrifice Kagome.

He thought about it at night a lot, when she was asleep. He kept sitting right next to her, and although he would never have told her, it had a lot to do with how much he enjoyed her scent. Maybe it also had something to do with the way her dark hair fell on the pillow when she was asleep, making him want to run his fingers through it, or…

Nah, definitely not.

They travelled for about a week, crossing a big part of the country, taking rare breaks. Inuyasha let Kagome rest longer than was absolutely necessary now. Not that he wanted to slow them down, but because he didn't want her to exhaust herself. It was crazy how he wouldn't have cared just _days_ ago, and now he did what he could to keep her safe. In a very imperfect way, sure, but dammit, it was all he _could_ do.

"We're getting closer to demon territory," he warned her, his voice strained, as he made them stop for the night. "Gotta be careful. Lots of bandits 'round here."

Kagome nodded, getting off of the horse, the movement getting easier every time. In those far territories, there weren't that many soldiers any more, but she wasn't too sure why Inuyasha warned her about the bandits instead of, well, the _demons_.

"It makes me wonder," she commented while tying the horse to a tree and starting to prepare dinner for the both of them, "we've been on the road for quite some time, right?"

"What, you can't count?"

She shot him a dark glance, and couldn't help the loop her heart made in her chest when she saw he was smirking.

That was something he did a lot more now — smirk. Not that many true smiles, sure, but… But it was _something_.

And _she_ was the one who made him smile.

Did he smile for the princess too? She wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

She cleared her throat and resumed to her thinking. "But the demons sent a ransom note for Kikyo very quickly. How did they manage to cover all that in such a short time?"

Inuyasha frowned and sat down next to her, watching her precise movements with more interest than needed. "Yeah, 's been on my mind too," he admitted. "Could be a teleportation thing. It's rare, but I've heard of some demons who have that. 't would explain why I didn't smell them coming. It could also just be that they can fly — that'd be a lot faster than walking. Also, they probably didn't need to stop for the night." He glanced at her intently and she ignored him, which made him smile again, in a softer way this time, knowing she wasn't watching him.

That being said, for the smell thing, he was pretty sure there was something else. Probably a barrier, too, but… Since when could demons have that many powers? Usually they had one big power, not _all_ at the same time.

There was definitely something fishy here.

"Have you met demons?" Kagome asked, her voice extremely careful as she handed him some meat. "I know your mom was human, but…"

She let the question unfinished, afraid she had already pushed too far, waiting to him to choose whether or not he wanted to answer her. He stared at the flames for a few seconds, before opening his mouth.

"My brother. Pureblood demon. First class asshole."

He spat every word with a growing disgust, his fists clenching in anger. Their encounter had been years ago now, before he'd met Kikyo and shortly after his mom's death, but he didn't think that was something he'd ever be able to forgive nor forget.

The way he had called him a bastard, said he was the shame of the family, that he should probably just kill him right there and then, and probably worst, how he'd talked about his mother… To this day, it still drove him insane.

To this day, the rejection by a member of his own family was still one of his worst memories. The man — Sesshomaru — had been his hope.

When his mother had known she was dying, she had insisted her and her son started travelling towards the demon territories. She thought his demon family would accept him at least. Inuyasha already knew very well back then that his human one wouldn't, so he clung onto that hope.

Even when his mother, even more exhausted by the journey, died unexpectedly and he was left alone by the people who were accompanying them. Even as he crossed the remaining human lands alone, starving, at night, doing everything in his power not to be seen.

Hope was such a fucked-up thing.

"Demons are no better than humans when it comes to half-demons," he concluded dejectedly.

It had been a long time since he'd last thought of that. It was one of those things that still hurt him.

He felt a weight on his shoulder, and froze when he realized it was Kagome's head.

He should have pushed her away, he should have complained, asked her what the fuck she thought she was doing.

He didn't.

Nor when she reached into his lap for his hand and squeezed it softly.

She didn't know what to say, what to begin with. She could almost _feel_ how hurt he was. Every time she thought she was starting to understand him, she discovered another part of his past that made her realize how worst it was than what she had thought initially. She wanted to say that she was sorry, apologize on behalf of the entire human race — and of the entire world as well — but she knew that wouldn't mean anything to him.

She just wanted to let him know that she was there now. By his side. Willing to do for him, _with_ him, those things that no one had accepted before.

Inuyasha closed his eyes briefly, way too conscious of the way her body touched his arm, of her warmth that ran through him and… Why did his palms feel so sweaty all of a sudden? He'd never had that problem before!

It was all her fault, and yet… Yet he couldn't bring himself to push her away from him. If this was bad, some kind of illness or whatever, he would gladly welcome it for longer. Sure, it was weird, but at the same time, there was something delicious in it.

He glanced down at her. He couldn't see her face, but he could picture it clearly. Her blue eyes, her rosy cheeks, maybe a small smile on her lips… Maybe they were slightly parted, like they were waiting for a k—

He cleared his throat and practically jumped up, startling Kagome.

"In—"

"Time for sleep," he muttered, keeping his back turned to her so she wouldn't see the color of his cheeks. "Otherwise, you're gonna complain all day tomorrow that you're too tired and all that shit."

Kagome rolled her eyes, but she knew the moment was gone. Her hand felt weirdly empty without his in it, and she rubbed the arm that had been touching his softly as his warmth vanished.

"Well I'm sure I'll find something to complain about anyway," she retorted with an acid tone. "Like my rude travel partner or something."

She huffed and soon, she was under her blanket, mumbling something about being a dick.

Once again, it made him smile. Because there was nothing mean-spirited in that, because she didn't mean it, because she wasn't terrified of him, and that _never happened_.

Just for that, he wanted to protect her forever, but his life wasn't his to give. So he'd have to settle for the now.

He sat down not too far away from her, and kept watching her until he fell asleep.

* * *

Kagome jumped up when she felt a hand shake her shoulder roughly, and blinked in confusion when she saw Inuyasha. It was still dark though — maybe really early in the morning — and she felt herself yawning immediately.

"Inuyasha, what…"

"Get up," he ordered through gritted teeth.

"But…"

"Fucking now!" he hissed.

Kagome frowned but did as he said. There was an unusual urgency in his voice, but also in the way he touched her as he helped her get up.

"Now what…"

Next thing she knew, she was holding back from screaming as Inuyasha started jumping through the forest without a warning. She desperately held onto his shoulders, although she realized the arm he had snuck around her waist was keeping her securely in place, pressing her against his chest and making it impossible for her to fall — or to escape, for that matter.

She tried to interrogate him, to read what was happening on his face, but she couldn't find anything there. His jaw was tight, his teeth gritted so hard that one of his fangs was coming out of his mouth. Other than that, his face was completely closed, and Kagome felt a weird twist in her stomach. He felt so far from her in that moment.

Inuyasha deftly climbed a tree and sat her on one of the branch.

"Bandits," he said with his usual economy of words.

Kagome blinked. "But can't you… take care of them?" she didn't like the implication of her words, as she certainly didn't want him to have to kill anyone, however she knew how good of a fighter he was.

He shook his head. "I told ya, we're close from demons territories. Lots of rogue monks 'round here. Probably lots of traps too. I could smell 'em, but if we're running" _and with your smell as a distraction_ , "I'd risk to run into them."

The young woman nodded in understanding. "So… what do we do then?"

…he hadn't expected to feel like that upon hearing her trusting him with her life. He cleared his throat discreetly. Now wasn't the time. " _You_ stay here. Imma get them away from here. You wait for the day, and then you get to the closest inn and you get as many soldiers as you can to get me out of here." He handed her a piece of paper he'd kept in his haori. "Here, that's Kaede's letter. I guess they'll follow you instantly if you show them that. I doubt anyone else would survive in demon territory."

Kagome remained silent for a few seconds. "We don't have time for that woman, I…"

"What do you mean, 'get you out of here'?" she asked quietly. "Why don't you just stay hidden here with me until they get away?"

Those words did something strange to him, like pretty much anything that came out of her mouth. "If there's a monk among them, he's probably, erm, _felt_ me. Don't know how that works, but I can't risk luring them to you."

She shook her head, leaning closer to him. "But if they're bandits and there's a monk, they'll…"

"I'll be _fine_ , Kagome," he said, reaching for her hand. "I'm valuable. If they know who I am, they'll probably try to trade me for money, if they don't they'll sell me or whatever." He swallowed. "That's not to say they won't have their fun with me, so try to hurry, but I'll be okay. I _promise_."

He didn't know why he was doing his promise. For a split second, as she stared at his face desperately, he thought that she wouldn't care about that, just about her own safety, and already his ears started to flatten against his skull as he expected her mockery.

Instead, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight, making him freeze, and suddenly making him way too conscious of her small body against his, of how her breasts were pressed against his chest, and once more, of her tantalizing smell.

"Be safe, Inuyasha," she whispered. "I swear I'll kill you if you're not."

He couldn't help but smile, and slowly, he dared to put his arms around her, gently holding her against him, careful as though he risked breaking her. She pulled away, and he took in her face, trying to stop himself from glancing at her lips and failing miserably.

" _You_ 'd better stay safe," he growled as fear overtook him at the thought of leaving her alone here. "Fuck, Kagome, if something happens to you…"

He didn't know what he did. The mere thought drove him insane, and fear almost made him unable to move.

But Kagome smiled defiantly.

"I'll come and get you," she promised.

He nodded. Time was suspended for a second during which his body felt as though it was oscillating towards her, brought close like she was a magnet.

He broke it off, and in one swift move, he jumped to the ground.

He didn't get far, and under Kagome's horrified eyes he was almost immediately cornered by several men. With a feral snarl he jumped towards them, claws and fangs ready for an attack, only to be hit with what she identified, wide-eyed, as an _ofuda_.

"Those things really come in handy," the man who'd thrown it sniggered.

He didn't see Inuyasha's claws coming, and he screamed when they dived into his chest.

"Shit!" someone yelled. "What the fuck?"

They all started throwing ofudas. Inuyasha kept standing, moving slower and slower, but unwilling to give up, before finally falling to the ground, still thrashing around.

"Fuck," one of the man hissed. "He's fucking strong."

"Isn't he a half-breed though?" someone else asked in disbelief. "How can he be…"

"Never mind that," the man who'd talked first snapped, making the other one flinch — probably the chief. "Let's bring him back to the camp before he can move again. We're going to run short of _ofudas_ and that guy… He'll kill us all."

Inuyasha could have sighed in relief if he wasn't in so much pain. Even behind the veil of the torture, his mind was clear enough to think that now, at least, Kagome would be safe. He had feared they would look around for someone else. Thankfully, he had distracted them enough so they wouldn't think about it.

"My Master will know what to do about it," a young voice said confidently, and at that Inuyasha frowned, trying to catch a glimpse of the person talking. He found himself filled with fear when he realized it was a young monk. Shit. He'd hoped that would be all they had. If there was another one, maybe he'd… "He probably still have some Beads."

The chief laughed at that. "That should be fun. He could probably use some submission," he commented, kicking Inuyasha, making him thrash around more. "Let's just try not to kill him this time boys, shall we?"

More laughs. Dread was starting to fill Inuyasha. He didn't want to wear Beads of Submission. He knew what those did, how they were abused by humans. _No_. He kept his mouth shut though. He had promised Kagome he would be okay, and he would make sure to stay alive, no matter how long it took her. Probably a few days — maybe a week.

He just had to hope they wouldn't be able to do too much damage to him until then. Still, if it meant she'd be safe that way… It was all worth it.

Kagome muffled her sobs, pressing her hand against her mouth as she watched them roughly grabbing Inuyasha and taking him away, making sure to stay away from his mouth and tying his hands behind his back.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. Beads of Submission. Her mom had talked about that, once, with more disgust in her voice than she had ever heard before. She had also heard soldiers joke about that — about how they wished they could put them on a _woman_ , about what they'd do if they could put them on a demon… It was a fate worst than death in the mind of many. The thought only made her sick.

If she left as Inuyasha had asked her, they would no doubt put them on him. That meant he'd be linked to the person who had done it, from what she knew, and she could only guess how much that probably disgusted him. He wouldn't admit it, but he was probably terrified. Someone as proud as him would _hate_ it.

If she didn't do it, there was a risk she'd fail in freeing him. But then, maybe they'd kill him anyway, maybe they'd torture him, maybe they'd _break_ him. All options felt equally as terrible, and she closed her eyes to stop the tears, taking one deep breath as the voices started to fade away. If she wanted to follow them, she had to do it now, she had no time to be hesitating.

Oh, what to do?

 _What to do?_

* * *

 _Aaaah, I'm so sorry this took so long! I'm particularly mad at myself because I knew what I wanted to happen in this chapter since I finished the last one and yet I couldn't bring myself to write it. Well, I hope you enjoyed it — I'm actually rather happy with this one. Also we're starting to see other canon characters even if it's just in mention (Sessh) and more should be introduced soon ;) Please leave a review and let me know what you think of it, reviews really are my fuel when I write. Oh, and someone mentioned they've noticed grammatical errors in previous chapters: please feel free to let me know when you spot them. I don't think I mentioned it here before, but English isn't my first language, so I'm always learning and I'd rather know about it then keep making those mistakes! I'll see you as soon as possible,_

 _Dya._


	10. Chapter 10

Ten

Laughter. Insults. Mockery.

It felt like it was all Inuyasha could hear. It felt it was all his world was.

He hadn't expected it to be so… so _easy_. For him to revert back to this state — frightened, angry, willing to do anything just for it all to stop. Part of him was well aware, of course, that it had only been a few hours since they had brought him here, kicking him if he wasn't fast enough for them, forcing him to get on his hand and knees, _like a dog_ , as they'd said. Even less since he had been locked up in this cage.

They had tried to get the man to put the Beads on him, probably because that would have been a whole lot of _fun_ , but he turned out to be too drunk to do that, much to the other men's hilarity. The necklace had been put around his neck, but nothing had been said to have it enchanted, and although he was relieved it hadn't been done already, Inuyasha knew he didn't have much time. They'd left him there, going to sleep, still laughing, leaving only the boy who'd placed the ofuda on him behind to watch him. The place was silent now, but the young man did just as he had been told, and kept an eye on him.

Inuyasha didn't think he'd heard a sound as unpleasant as all these laughs before. He didn't think he'd smelled something as terrible as their sweat-covered bodies filled with alcohol.

His mind was spinning. He didn't remember feeling so out of control before, as his hands clawed the ground to maintain his sanity, and as he fought back the growl that was forming in his throat as strongly as he could. He didn't want to risk worsening it — and even that wasn't like him, but rather like a part of him long-buried, that he had thought to have disappeared. He was only a child when he had been truly alone for the last time, after all. Afterwards, even in the darkest moments of his interactions with the soldiers-monks, Kikyo had been there, somewhere.

But Kikyo wasn't there right now, and somehow, just the memory of her wasn't enough to keep the horror of his situation at bay. There was nothing for him to hold on to, except…

Except that Kagome was alright.

He kept himself firmly anchored to the ground as his thoughts immediately drifted towards her the second her name surfaced in his mind, giving him some sort of peace.

She was away from all that. If he was lucky, she'd be coming with support soon, though to be honest, he didn't believe it would happen. He had talked about Kaede's letter, and _theoretically_ , that should have been enough, but he had no faith in soldiers. He wasn't even sure they'd treat her right. He hoped they'd get her back to somewhere safe, at least. It couldn't be worse than here.

Could it?

He closed his eyes shut as hard as he could, calling for the memory of her face. Of her smile that made him feel like he couldn't breathe, but in a good way. About the way she talked to him. Not like she thought he was lower than dirt, nor like he worked for her. Like he was a _person_.

 _Kagome_.

He clung to her face as his grip on the ground slowly but surely relaxed.

There was no way she'd be there on time. He was sadly familiar with the place and they were really far away from any place with soldiers. He'd have been able to get them, had the situation been reversed, but…

Just the thought of her being locked here in this cage instead of him, or _worse_ , out there with them made his teeth clench, and it suddenly became much harder to refrain his growl, to the point where it ended up escaping his throat. His jailer made his tongue click.

"Wouldn't try anything if I were you, _beast_. I mean, the others probably wouldn't be all that happy if you woke 'em up with your screaming."

He had a sick smile on his face, and Inuyasha understood immediately that he would _absolutely_ make him scream, would definitely take his chance if he gave him one. Probably got off on the idea that they'd be try to kill at him if he woke them up, too.

And this was a _kid_. No more than twelve or thirteen, probably. What kind of training did they go through at the castle? Inuyasha didn't think he wanted to know, but to be honest it didn't change all that much in his mind. He'd gone through pretty shitty stuff — and that was the understatement of the century — and he hadn't turned into a bloodthirsty, sadistic monster. He'd fought for his life, yeah, and there had been deaths. But he had never _enjoyed_ it like that boy was enjoying the power he had over him.

If this was what they were taught, no wonder most monks and soldiers coming out of formation were half-insane and taking pleasure in hurting people like him. Inuyasha was going to just let it be and try to get some sleep before the horror that would no doubt unfold in the morning.

That was when the kid grabbed a stick.

It vaguely looked like a monk's staff, and for a split second, Inuyasha felt cold fear spreading in his veins. The boy wasn't trained enough, there was no way…

Nah, he simply tried to hit Inuyasha through the cage's bars, and it was just as sick but Inuyasha felt _relief_ at that. He didn't have much of a problem with physical pain, and the first blow hit him without him even blinking.

He couldn't say it felt good, but it didn't really matter. Why should he worry about pain when there could be so much worse?

" _…_ _you don't have to be in pain!_ "

His mouth twitched. Kagome was already invading his mind again. Was this going to become the norm? He hadn't been away from her in the past weeks, so he hadn't realized she was so present in his thoughts. He remembered her gentle fingers, massaging away the pain. Treating so much more than his physical wounds with her soft hands.

When the staff hit again, Inuyasha caught it. He had no intention to do it. He had meant to let the boy have his fill, knowing that it wouldn't do much to him. There was just a part of him, the one that wasn't feeling terrified and lonely, that had decided that he'd just had fucking _enough_.

With a simple pressure of his fingers, the wood practically exploded in his hand, as he revealed his fangs in a snarl. Maybe he wouldn't be fast enough to break through the cage and to rip the boy's throat out.

But maybe he would, and that was all the kid needed to think about as he stumbled back. Inuyasha's eyes widened when the boy reached inside his kimono, getting an ofuda out with trembling movements. Inuyasha clenched his teeth, hesitating. He _did_ have a chance to escape, even though it could be dangerous.

He didn't have to make a decision. He heard the crack of wood on bone, and the boy fell forwards, caught by slender arms that stopped him from hitting the ground too hard.

Inuyasha stared at the figure who had just appeared there, refusing to believe what he was seeing. _No fucking way. Didn't I_ tell _her…_ He opened his mouth, ready to snarl angrily, but Kagome beat him to it, moving her arm through the bars to press her hand against his lips.

"Shh!" she hissed. "Just wait!"

She made brief eye-contact with him, but glanced away quickly, too quickly for him. He wanted more than that, just to be certain that she was truly there. The short contact of their skins should have convinced him, but the part of his mind that had gone back to how he was and felt as a child refused to believe it. Like he still couldn't believe anyone could be nice to him ever again after his mother's death.

Kagome had no way of knowing any of that though, and she quickly made her way around the cage, finding the door. He noticed her stopping to look at the boy who she had laid on the ground and the guilty expression that briefly appeared on her face, and he would have snorted in another situation. This was not the time for regrets.

Much to his surprise, as soon as she looked away; she inserted the key in the lock, opening it as silently as she could. She had to have been there for a while to have gotten hold of that, and as he realized just then, to have followed them here. Why hadn't he smelled her before? Now that she was there, her smell, that had progressively grown on him since he had met her, was practically the only thing he was really aware of. Had he let their terrible smells drown hers out? He wouldn't make that mistake again.

He was so unsure of everything right now, despite what his eyes and nose were telling him, that he almost missed Kagome's extended hand toward him, reaching inside the cage.

"Inuyasha!" she called in a distressed whisper, bringing him back to reality.

In one swift movement he was out. He had grabbed her small hand in his clawed one, and almost instantly he found himself standing close to her, towering over her, her chest pressed against his as his other hand went for her waist, trying to confirm that she was _real_ , that she was _here_. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to let himself indulge in everything _her_.

The thought that he couldn't drove him insane, but still, he stepped back, still holding her hand.

"Let's go," he ordered, his voice a low growl.

There was a brief moment where Kagome considered commenting on how, yeah, she had no intention to stay there even before he told her about it, but she pushed the thought aside instantly. What on earth was on her mind right now? They had to get away, _now_.

Without making a sound, the two of them proceeded to walk across the camp to get out. Inuyasha could have just taken them through it, as that would have been faster, but he was afraid an abrupt change in the position of his demonic aura would alert the monk — even if he was asleep and drunk. After that, not only would they be back to square one, but this time, the bandits would know for sure he wasn't alone, and he couldn't have that.

They were _almost_ out when the boy woke up.

Inuyasha sensed him as he sat up, but it was too late, too far, and though he should have fucking thought about it, because there was no way Kagome's strength could knock him out for a long time, he hadn't.

"They're trying to escape!"

His voice was high-pitched, making Inuyasha grimace and Kagome jump as she looked around, terrified. Already, the men were trying to get up, surprisingly alert considering the state they were in when they'd gone to bed, but then, given how close they lived from demons lands, they were probably used to that stuff.

"Well what do we have here?" someone chuckled as his hand grabbed Kagome's ankle. She screamed, and Inuyasha cursed as he sliced the fucker's wrist with his claws, earning a shout of pain.

Kagome stepped back, in shock and terrified. She could barely feel her legs with how scared she was. She had failed. With them awake now, Inuyasha would be… Inuyasha would be—

She screamed again when hands clasped on her shoulders this time, pulling her backwards and away from Inuyasha. She felt his hand slip from between her fingers and saw his terrified expression when he turned around. The fear she read on his face was so unlike him…

"Kagome!"

He moved towards her, but found himself surrounded by the men. He felt every muscle in his body tense as he assessed the situation. He didn't want to murder them, however he would have no problem with it whatsoever if they stood between him and her. He flexed his fingers. He could tell they wanted blood. Men always looked like this when they were going in for a kill. Well, if that was what they wanted…

He caught movement at the corner of his eye, briefly distracting him from Kagome who was struggling, still fighting the men trying to immobilize her. The monk. Shit, he'd forgotten about it. And he was wearing the Beads…

The ofuda struck him in the chest and he heard Kagome's scream as he fell to his knees.

"Kagome!" he snarled as the monk, looking a bit confused — the hangover no doubt — walked towards him, grinning. "Enchant the Beads!"

She looked at him in disbelief. She'd never— She had no idea— How could she—

"Say something!"

Her mind was completely blank.

"Anything!"

The monk was opening his mouth.

"Sit!"

She didn't know anything about her powers, had never had any training, but she put all her desperation into that one word, closing her eyes as she prayed internally for it to work. She wasn't too sure where it was coming from, and maybe she could have worried about Inuyasha's reaction in other circumstances, but suddenly, she felt completely drained, and her senses dulled. She heard the sound of something hitting the ground harshly and she opened her eyes, which resulted in tears escaping and rolling on her cheeks.

Inuyasha… What had she _done_?

Then, the silver-haired head reappeared, standing up, and she could have cried simply at the sight of him, simply because he was there and he was _alive_ , if the situation didn't feel that desperate.

Except, Inuyasha… He was _smiling_.

And then, he attacked.

The men didn't stand a chance. He took out the two people with spiritual powers first. Now that he had the certainty they wouldn't be able to use the Beads against him, they only had ofudas, and the thought was reassuring to him. Plus, in the middle of their own camp, he could be sure there would be no traps.

Which meant he didn't have anything to worry about.

The fight was short and unbalanced; the men stood no chance. As soon as the real threat was out, he took care of the men who were surrounding Kagome, showing them no mercy. He knew there may be other ofudas here and there, but he didn't think that would be enough to neutralize him in his state, and he had no reasons to worry about it.

The rest was more complicated. They had weapons, they were aware of what was going on, and it wasn't like they were untrained. Still, they were no soldiers, and though he did get some more or less serious injuries in the process, he didn't worry about it. These were not demon slayers' weapons, they'd heal fast.

Once he was done, his eyes went back to Kagome. She was standing still, frozen, looking at him, and the fear that was completely unknown to him just a month ago ran through him once more. What if she thought he was a monster? He could only imagine how he looked right now, his hands covered in blood, moans of pain coming from everywhere around him. He'd tried not to kill anyone, but she had no way to know this.

He looked at her, panting, his fangs in full view, his arms limp on either side of his body as blood dripped to the ground from his hands and slowly soaked his clothes. He could smell it, too, and he frowned, trying to get rid of the unpleasant odor, which was impossible in those circumstances.

Kagome took a step towards him, extending her hand, and he had to resist recoiling when she came in contact with his chest.

"Inuyasha," she called out. Her voice was soft, and the part of him that was still rational easily guessed that she was trying to calm him down. She was trembling though, clearly having a hard time standing up. She was fighting it, and he realized just then how much he _loved_ how strong she was, but right now she couldn't keep doing this on her own.

"Let's go," she whispered. She'd meant it as something reassuring, to get him away from here as he clearly looked in shock after what had just happened, but it ended up ringing as though she was begging him.

He turned around, presenting her his back.

"Get on." His voice was rough, even hoarser than usual. "We're leaving."

He heard a muffled sob of relief, and soon he felt her hands on his shoulders. His hands grabbed her legs, making her kimono reveal her ankles and shins. She practically let herself fall on him, and he could only guess how tired she had to be.

He'd get her somewhere safe.

* * *

Kagome was half-unconscious for most of the ride. She wasn't sure whether it was the lack of sleep, or the use of her newly discovered powers, or maybe Inuyasha's comforting warmth that made her feel so _safe_ , but she couldn't keep her eyes open.

She did really wake up when they walked into the inn. Inuyasha dropped her to the ground, but kept her pressed against him, his arm firm around her waist. She blinked when he walked in, trying to get accustomed to the light. Nothing too bright, just a few torches, but it was still much more than the moonlight.

The innkeeper jumped to his feet, glancing around, horrified.

"Back up, demon, we—"

"Shut up," Inuyasha snarled. He was in no mood for games, not after tonight. "The _Princess_ needs a room. Now."

There was a moment of shocked silence, during which the man simply dumbly looked between Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome had to admit, she wasn't at her best, in terms of looking regal and all, but she did her best to give the man a nod. Still, he seemed to hesitate. In another situation, she wouldn't have blamed him for that. Right now, though…

"I think he was more than clear," she hissed, hoping she didn't sound as exhausted as she felt.

This time, the man's eyes stopped on her, and he decided that angering the Princess was probably worse than letting the demon inside. Well, it would no doubt have worse consequences anyway. It wasn't like the Princess's, ahem, _curiosity_ of a companion was a secret either. It was strange enough to be talked about, and the man with the silver hair did look close enough from whatever descriptions he'd heard before. As for the woman, she definitely looked like the Princess — but then again, he had only seen her once, when she'd visited, and he was in the middle of a crowd.

Still, he didn't want to anger them and he made his decision quickly, giving them an obsequious smile and bow. It didn't take long before he showed them to a room. He hovered around them for a moment until Inuyasha shot him a furious glare while laying Kagome on the futon as carefully as he could. It was only then that he walked away, sliding the door close behind him.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, his mind briefly going to the man. He'd have to make sure he wouldn't try to attack them or throw them out during the night, but if he had been convinced by Kagome's act, he probably wouldn't bother her at least. Even if he hadn't been convinced — just in case. Part of him was protesting at what he was doing, how close from Kagome he'd appeared, because _what would people say and think about Kikyo_ , but for the first time, he had no problem pushing that aside.

Right now, he was taking care of Kagome.

She grunted as he laid her down, and immediately moved to sit back up. He let her with a sigh. He could tell her mind was far from clear, and he was a bit worried about the implication, when it came to the Beads. Did that have anything to do with her tired state? Because even though it was probably the best they could have done, he couldn't forget how she had no experience with that shit.

He rose his hand to her face, softly pushing her hair behind her ear, and then his hand just stayed there, playing with the lock. She stared at him, and there was some sort of veil over her blue eyes. Maybe it was just exhaustion, but he couldn't help but worry now.

He should have thought about it before, to be honest. Should have asked her to train ever since she had first managed to use purification, to reproduce it. They had been pretty fucking lucky, though it wasn't _just_ a lucky guess from him to assume that her powers were triggered by emotions and urgency. He couldn't let it happen again though. He had no intention of letting her having to save him ever again, but in case she had to defend herself, she'd have to be able to conjure it herself.

It wouldn't be simple — like they'd already discussed, it would be hard to get anyone to train her without putting her family in danger — but it was definitely necessary. Maybe he would ask Kikyo.

Kikyo, who had been kidnapped weeks ago, who was alone, and they were wasting even more time—

Yeah. He didn't want to think about Kikyo just now.

"Y'should sleep," he said. "We'll be leaving around noon tomorrow so ya can get some rest and won't just faint on me. No need to waste it."

Despite his words, he didn't move away. He liked how comfortable he felt around her, and he doubted he'd be in that mindset for a long time, but right now… Right now he didn't _want_ to move away.

"Are you okay?" she finally whispered.

She had meant to ask ever since she had gotten on his back, but everything in her mind was just so _tangled_ and none of it made _sense_ and she couldn't tell _what the hell was going on with her_. Inuyasha nodded as he leaned a bit closer towards her. Their foreheads were almost touching now, and she could feel his hot, slow breath on her skin.

"Fine."

She would have to wait for the next morning to get a better answer. It was necessary, both for her mind and for his, but she didn't really want to end this with just a 'fine'. When she felt him finally moving away — she couldn't tell how long they'd stayed like that — she grabbed his wrist, or at least she tried to, and her fingers closed around the red cloth.

"Where are you going?"

She didn't mean to sound that desperate, that lost. She just really, really didn't want him to go away right now.

"Gonna get the horse," he whispered. Was it just her or was his voice really much gentler than it usually was? "That way we'll have the money and your letter for tomorrow morning. I'll be back soon, Kagome."

Her grip tightened on his sleeve. She was unable to process the way he had said her name just now, how tenderly, like he didn't want to risk wearing it out but couldn't resist using it anyway.

"You're going back there? Inuyasha, _please_ …"

Once again, her mind and her ideas felt like they were slipping away, and she found herself only staring into his golden eyes, silently pleading. For him to stay, for him not to leave her alone, for him to be safe, for him never to scare her like that again.

And suddenly, his mouth was on hers.

It wasn't a soft nor a sweet kiss, and Kagome let out a surprised sound at the contact of his warm mouth against hers. She let him, though, instantly feeling herself melting into his arms, as the hand that was already playing with her hair pulled her closer. The movement, and his other hand grabbing her waist, was almost rough, despite being definitely careful. It was like he would have been soft and gentle, if only he had known how.

She gasped when their mouths separated briefly, going back in as soon as she'd filled her lungs with air, as her fingers found his face and gently traced his jaw, softly wandering on his cheeks, compensating every part of his harshness with how tender she was. She finally pulled away, letting her head rest against his chest. His heavy breaths filled the room. She felt as though she should have said something, done something. But it felt so _right_ to just be here. With him.

Her eyes closed, and she was sleeping before she knew it.

* * *

"Hey, ya got enough sleep."

Kagome moaned as she opened her eyes with much difficulty and brought her hand to her forehead. She had a terrible headache.

"Get up already, enough time lost. We gotta go."

She looked up to see Inuyasha, sitting on the window. He wasn't looking at her, and the realization made her frown as the previous night's events slowly came back to her. Was there a problem…?

She stood up and was surprised to find her legs strong under her. It looked like her body had taken advantage of the rest more than her mind. Inuyasha jumped up almost immediately.

"I already paid. We're leaving, _now_."

This time, she grimaced. Oh, were they really back to that?

"I heard it the first time, Inuyasha," she hissed. "I just feel like my head's going to explode, okay?"

She missed the guilty expression that passed on his face. It didn't last long though, and soon it was replaced with an annoyed scowl.

"Yeah, though. But we have things to do, and it's already late."

This time, she actually glared at him. She was hesitating between shock and pure, sheer _fury_.

"It's not like it's my fault!" she protested.

He merely shrugged at that, and she could practically hear his comment on humans' weakness, even though it never left his mouth. He simply walked pass her, and maybe she was wrong, but it felt to her like he _deliberately_ moved away as he did, making sure not not to touch her.

Kagome watched him leave in disbelief, feeling emotions building up inside her. Shock, confusion, hurt… And once more, anger.

She was done playing these games. She knew there was much more to him than she had first thought, and she knew she'd only scraped the surface of how much he had suffered, but it didn't make it okay for him to just keep toying with her.

She swallowed, refusing to let the tears fall out of her eyes. If this was what he wanted, this was what she would give him. She was done getting out of the way to help him, to make things nicer between them. She'd told herself that before, and she knew it, but she truly thought they had moved past this stade. She truly thought that they were sharing something now.

Obviously, she had been wrong.

She shook her head resolutely. She was _done_.

So she walked out of the room with her head high, and she ignored the way her heart ached with every step she took.

* * *

 _Heyyy, so, erm... This is late? I'm sorry? I hope you enjoyed it at least (and we finally got_ the kiss _, even though things are not that easy coz everything's complicated in Inu's pretty little mind). We're probably coming close to a third/a half of the story now, and I hope you're enjoying it! Thank you so much for sticking around despite how irregular I can be, it all means so much to me! Please leave me a review to let me know what you thought, they're a real boost for me and they really help me to keep writing. I know I say it every time, but it's so important for a writer! I will see you soon, hopefully,_

 _Dya._


	11. Chapter 11

Eleven

Inuyasha didn't think he had ever felt like that much of an asshole before. Ever. It had taken him some time to notice that Kagome wasn't talking to him, mostly because he was used to the silence himself, as it had been _everywhere_ around him for the most important part of his life, but this was different. Because it was her. Even when she was mad at him, or at the beginning of the journey when they basically didn't talk, _she_ was never that silent.

It worsened when he realized she wasn't even looking at him. No — she _refused_ to look at him, always adverting her eyes on the few occasions he tried to meet them. She was always behind him or in front of him, refusing any form of interaction.

He didn't like it. It bothered him on a deep level that he wasn't sure he completely understood.

Normally, in such a situation, he would have said something. Hell, the day before, or even back then when he didn't give a fuck about her, he would have said something, even if it was just a complaint. Now though? Now he couldn't silence the small voice in the back of his head that told him that this was for the best.

They had wasted time. Precious time they were supposed to use to get Kikyo, to save her. Even with doing something as trivial as allowing Kagome to sleep longer, he had _failed_ the one person he should never, ever fail.

That didn't mean he was happy about it. The cold treatment… got to him much more than he would have liked it to. It was probably better off that way though, wasn't it? They would go their separate way after that, assuming they — _she_ — made it out alive. She would go back to her family, and he would keep doing his duty at Kikyo's side.

Yes, he had to admit it, he would like it if Kagome was by his side. But he couldn't ask that of her.

Despite that, despite his best resolve, the second Kagome talked to him while they were eating the dinner she'd silently cooked, he felt himself coming back to her, unable to keep himself to it.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was unusually quiet, like she tried to keep it perfectly calm, but it still wasn't completely void of emotion.

"What're ya talking about?" he tried to growl. He knew he wasn't convincing, though he wasn't sure _she_ realized it. They felt like two actors badly trying to pretend they didn't care about each other.

"Yesterday…" His heart missed a beat. Her warm body against his, the delicious sounds she'd made, her taste, her skin under his fingers… "It took me some time before I found you."

Oh. Right. He cursed himself for letting his mind send him to this immediately. He felt like he was on fire now, his entire body only desiring to go back to her, and he dug his claws in the ground as if it would help him restrain himself.

"But you did."

Kagome's head snapped up and her eyes met his, perhaps for the first time that day. She quickly looked away, but for a second, she had looked desperately pleading. Pleading for… he wasn't quite sure. For him to stay away? His ears drooped a little. Yeah. He had no right to her. He never had any. Even if it wasn't for their current situation, even in a world where neither of them would have had obligations, he was still a half-demon. She was human. Worse, she was apparently a priestess.

He cleared his throat. "'m fine." _Don't worry._ "You did the right thing. I dunno what would have happened if you hadn't come." Well, he did. He just didn't want to think about it, and he certainly didn't want _her_ to do so.

Her shoulders relaxed just a little, and Inuyasha couldn't help but frown. So she _had_ worried. It made him want to go over to her, walk to the other side of the fire that was resolutely burning between them, and just hold her. Tell her she'd done the right thing. Also — had she really been scared of his reaction? For saving his life? Did she really think he was that much of a _dick_?

Probably did, actually. He wasn't too sure why she was coming to this conclusion now of all times, but again, it was probably for the best. Even if it made him feel lower than earth at the moment.

"I know you said you didn't want me to, but…"

"It went well," he interrupted her. Maybe it was dumb and reckless, and he never wanted to endanger herself like that again, certainly not for him, but he was alive and well because of her. Except for… Almost despite himself, his eyes fell to the beads around his neck. He had tried to take them off after she had fallen asleep and without much surprise, had failed.

Kagome's eyes followed his, and she frowned when she noticed the Beads again.

"Want me to try to remove it?"

He shook his head. "Maybe later, but y're still exhausted by what ya did last night. I'm not sure how that shit works, but Kikyo'll probably be able to take it off when we get her back."

There was brief silence. "Yes, of course."

He blinked at her as she glanced away, her voice sounding even more bitter than earlier for some reason he couldn't figure out.

"What about you?" he asked, trying to shake away the uncomfortable silences that seemed to have suddenly become the norm between them despite how natural the conversation had become over the past weeks.

She didn't look back at him. "I'm fine. Just tired."

"You…"

"I should sleep. That way you won't be _slowed down_ tomorrow."

He tensed, but she was still carefully avoiding to look at him. In only a few seconds, she was under the blankets, her back turned to him, and he remained where he was for a long moment, staring at her, trying to understand what was going on. There was a lump in his throat, and his ears were practically ringing with the sense of something being terribly _wrong_.

He didn't understand. He didn't understand how she could come and save him and now refuse to even just look at him. What had he…

It was the kiss, wasn't it? It _had_ to be the kiss. He shouldn't have. He should have known better. He could have sworn, then, that she hadn't minded. From the way she'd responded, he'd felt like… Like… Like she wanted it as much as he did. But maybe he'd just been taking advantage of her in a time of weakness, and maybe it had just been one of those things that can only happen during the darkest hours of the night, something that can't exist under the sun, or next to a fire.

It was okay though. He would let her be, if that was what he wanted. He didn't have much time by her side. He would try not to ruin it, though it looked like he was pretty good at that.

When her breathing slowed, he stood slowly. It felt like a bad idea, but from where he was, her smell was masked by that of ashes and burning wood, and he didn't like it. He came to sit next to her, studying her peaceful face, trying not to think about her lips that were slightly parted. He reached out to run his fingers through her hair, and then yanked his hand back after barely brushing against it.

What if she didn't want even that? What if she didn't want his contact even in this simple way now? What if it _disgusted_ her?

He sat there looking at her, helpless, hoping for a sign from her that she obviously couldn't give him.

He didn't get any sleep that night.

* * *

Kagome was _confused_. Since _that_ morning, her interactions with Inuyasha had been reduced to close to nothing. At first it had mostly been on her side, but now he had completely stopped as well. The problem was that it wasn't even as bitter or angry as her reaction. Instead, it was… quiet. Almost sad. And as much as she had told herself she wouldn't let herself be hurt again, she _hated_ to watch him closing himself more and more.

She refused to reach out just to get shut down again, but the fact that he was not only distant but _miserable_ made it pretty damn hard. After all, if there was one thing Kagome did, it was to _care_. It would have been easier if she could pretend she didn't. Somehow, part of her had thought Inuyasha certainly didn't — and had gotten ready to pretend he was just good at acting like he did, because it would hurt less.

Except that apparently, Inuyasha did care. And that… made it all so much harder and more complicated.

It also made it a lot harder for her to understand. Or… or maybe it didn't. She didn't know, she wasn't sure, she was so stupidly _confused_.

If he cared, it had to mean that he hadn't just been toying with her when he had kissed her. It definitely hadn't felt that way, but she had assumed afterwards that her exhaustion had been the reason for her imagining things that she wanted to be there. But then, she had to wonder _why_ he'd been such an asshole right after. Even before he started acting plain weird, he had been distant for the entire day, keeping her away. And he had the _nerves_ to act all dejected when she gave him the exact same treatment?

She wanted to be mad at him. She really did. She didn't want to be forgiving and understanding anymore, because it _hurt_ , dammit. He shouldn't be getting a pass for how horrible he made her feel.

But it wasn't like she could act as though there weren't other things at play.

After all, Inuyasha wasn't exactly great with human interactions. He was also in a stressful situation, with the only person he had cared for during the last ten years in great danger. He was new to talking to anyone but her, and maybe she was wrong, but Kagome felt that his relationship with her was very different from the one he shared with Kikyo. This had to come into play somewhere.

Still, none of this made it okay for him to hurt her.

Maybe if there had been an apology from him, she would have easily been able to forgive him, but, as she slowly realized, Inuyasha probably didn't even realize he had hurt her.

Because yes, of course, there was another possibility.

It was that he regretted the kiss — and she could easily figure out why. He _had_ started talking about Kikyo a lot more right after. Not in conversations like he used to do, when they had shared their past, but almost as a point of reference, as though she was his lantern shining in the light.

Which Kagome guessed, that was exactly what Kikyo was to him.

As for her, she was just… a distraction, maybe. Something new for him. But she was just that, wasn't she? There was no way she could be more important to him than the woman who had been in his life for years now.

She wished she had understood that sooner. She couldn't even find it in her to blame him for that, truly. She just felt defeated by the shadow of that woman she had never met and yet could never surpass, no matter how much she wanted to.

Whether or not she did want to was a question she pushed as far away from her mind as possible. She wasn't stupid. She knew how she reacted around Inuyasha, but she wanted to think that, if she didn't acknowledge them fully, her feelings would just fade away. It was a foolish hope, probably. But it hurt slightly less.

The days went on strangely.

On the second one, Inuyasha finally let her attempt to remove the Beads around his neck. When she came close he glanced away with a scoff, and for a second it was like she had found the person she knew again.

"Keh! Ya can try it, but we'd better just wait."

She winced a little at that. Wait until they found Kikyo. He was right, of course. Kikyo was infinitely more qualified than her. She knew that. On a very reasonable, logical level, she could understand that. But she couldn't help the painful pang in her chest at his words.

"Oh yeah? So you don't mind if I just have to say a word to send you into the ground?"

This time he looked up at her, looking genuinely annoyed. "Don't ya fucking dare—" He noticed then that she was smiling, and looked away again. "You would never."

Kagome chuckled lightly at his indignant reaction. It had been easy to get back to their friendly banter for a second, but he was already stepping away again.

"Just try it, okay?" he mumbled, his head down this time, as though he was avoiding to look at her.

She nodded and took a step to get closer to him. She thought she heard him taking a deep breath, which made her frown. What, was it really that stressful for him to have her close now? He certainly hadn't seemed to mind last time.

Inuyasha closed his eyes when she stepped in front of him, using the brief instant to breathe her scent in again. He hadn't been able to, with how they had stayed away from each other, and he missed it. He missed it a lot. If he had been surprised by how intensely he needed it when he had been captured, he was fucking shocked at how much he wanted it now, even though he was with her all the time. It wasn't enough anymore to smell her in the wind.

He wanted _more_.

She grabbed the necklace and tried to pull it up, letting out a surprised sound when she didn't manage to do so. Well yeah, what had she thought? He'd tried that too.

He kept his eyes away as the girl focused, probably trying to use her powers again. He had been thinking she should train for that. Maybe they could try something, once they'd be in demon territory. They'd at least keep away _some_ demons if they thought there was a priestess there. None that he couldn't take care of, probably, but there was a possibility she would learn how to defend herself this way, and it would be better for her. Just in case.

She hissed in pain, and instantly his thoughts shattered as he jumped up, cursing himself for not noticing the smell of burnt skin earlier. He reached for her hands, turning them so he could see her palms, check that she wasn't too injured, yell at her for hurting herself dammit and—

And he let go like he was the one who had burnt himself, not noticing how she paled when he did.

 _No touching_. He wouldn't do anything she wouldn't want him to.

She looked at him expectantly. "I can try again…"

"No." There was something completely final in his words, and this time, he let himself look directly into her eyes. "I'm not letting you hurt yourself again."

She blinked for a second, then nodded, more compliant than he had expected her to. "Okay. Thanks, Inuyasha."

The word shook him to his core, and it took everything in him not to just wrap her into his embrace. He didn't know why it was the case now of all times. Maybe because he wasn't sure she realized how much he meant it.

He didn't want to see her being hurt again — ever. He wished he could promise her protection. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, practically biting his tongue in the process.

He couldn't do that. He couldn't do anything. He had nothing to give her.

"C'mon. Let's go."

Kagome stared at his back as he turned away a little too quickly. But she sighed and shrugged it off.

It was none of her business now.

* * *

"Last inn before demon territory. We're stopping there."

That had to be the longest sentence she'd heard from him in the last two days. Straight to the point, not letting place for choice or dialogue.

Had they really been set that far back?

"Well we can keep going," Kagome offered, not bothering to look at him, knowing he wasn't either. "It's not night yet, and we'll still have some time in demon territory anyway. Better not to waste any more time, right?"

She kinda wanted to smack herself for that last jab, especially when she saw him tensing and his ears droop. She hadn't been expecting him to actually care, sure, but she was on edge and it wasn't fair to take it out on him — even though he was the reason for it.

"No. We're spending the night here. Now hurry your ass up."

She rolled her eyes, already not feeling sorry for him anymore. That's how they were going to be? _Fine_.

"Okay. Want me to let the window open?"

He flinched and glanced at her briefly.

"Yeah. That'd be… Yeah."

For the first time, Kagome actually felt uneasy at his reaction. Something was wrong. The reactions he had had now twice today were not like him. He didn't leave her any time to process it and decide how to ask though, as he quickly jogged away, running towards the inn.

The place was calm but tense. People actually didn't seem to care as much when Inuyasha entered, though Kagome did notice a monk very calmly putting his staff on the table, in full display, just as a casual intimidation measure that still annoyed her. She guessed being that close to the demon territory couldn't make people feel too comfortable, but wouldn't everything be so much _nicer_ if people didn't try to scare each other all the time? God.

Soon she found herself in her room, left alone for once because of the reduced staff of the place. With a sigh, she sat down on her mattress. It felt like an eternity since she had last had some time for herself. Even without her journey with Inuyasha, she was busy all the time in the castle, her rare spare time being spent writing letters to her family.

Her family. She wondered if they worried about her, since she hadn't done it in a while. Her mother probably didn't, knowing her, and the thought brought a small smile to her lips.

Suddenly, fear gripped her by the throat.

What if she didn't come back?

The thought had crossed her mind before, but she had trusted Inuyasha fully. Even now, she didn't believe he would leave her to die, but even he wasn't infaillible, so… So what if they didn't make it back? Would her family never find out what happened to her? Would she never get to see Sota grow old? Would _she_ never grow old, never get married, never have children?

 _No_. She couldn't let fear take her over. She needed to believe she would make it through, but… Just in case… She should probably write to her family.

Having obtained paper, ink and a brush, she proceeded to write down a message. There was not much she could say in it, but she could definitely tell them, once more, and hopefully not one last time, that she loved them. And that she hoped she would see them again soon.

She walked down once more to give instructions to have the letter sent. Maybe it would be considered cheating, as she was using her place as the princess to have it sent as fast as possible despite how far they were, but she told herself that maybe it was okay to do it. Just once.

When she went back to her room, she almost let out a scream. Inuyasha was leaning against the window. He glanced up at her, seeming startled, which, once more, was _not_ normal. She knew he could tell when she was coming, whether it was because of his sense of smell or because of his hearing. There was no way she should have been able to surprise him.

She walked over to him, kneeling down by his side, and he swallowed, pushing himself a little further away against the wall.

"Inuyasha, what's going on?"

"Keh, I have no idea what—"

"You didn't hear me coming. You're here and it's not even the night, which means that people might have seen you coming in, and I _know_ you don't want that. So Inuyasha, _what's going on_?"

He swallowed, glancing away from her.

"I don't _hear_ ya coming anyway," he mumbled, which was an interesting information but not what she wanted to know right now. "I… 's gonna be night soon. Just wait."

She frowned, but rolled her eyes. She _did_ want to ask him more. It wasn't that easy for her to stay mad — but what was the point if he was just going to do it again?

Choosing a middle ground, she sat next to him. Not interrogating him, not trying to get him to talk. Just staying with him. He seemed confused at first, but as his shoulders relaxed, she felt his arm brushing against hers.

 _Since when haven't we touched_?

It couldn't have been long, of course, but it felt so foreign again, and at the same time it became _familiar_ so quickly, that Kagome felt some things she had tried to bury resurface. The spot where they were touching — through their clothes, not even skin to skin — started to burn, sending waves of pleasant warmth in her body.

She closed her eyes. _This_ was why it was so hard to stay away from him. Because things could be so easy. They could feel so _good_. If everything could be like that, or with a couple of hardships, it would all be great. She would take it. She would take it gladly.

But it wasn't like that, and someone who wasn't there was standing between them, even now.

The room darkened, slowly, and next to her, Inuyasha tensed again, his body moving away from hers again. She bit her lip, but didn't say anything. Already? She had hoped they would have a little more time. She looked at him, merely wanting to steal a glance, just for a second.

And froze, as she took in his long black hair, and realized the familiar triangular ears on top of his head were gone.

He wasn't looking at her, his eyes closed, but his jaw was tight, and his fists clenched.

"What's—"

"I'll be human for the night." His voice was just slightly less deep than it usually was, and also slightly less… angry sounding. "'til the sun rises. That's why we need to be here. I wouldn't be able to protect you over there."

Her eyes widened at the second part of his statement, and she almost missed him cursing under his breath, like he hadn't meant for that to slip out.

"Just sleep, 'kay? We'll be leaving as soon as the sun rises. I _know_ we wasted time because of _this_."

There was such rage and disgust in his voice that this time, Kagome couldn't help but reach out. Usually, any other emotion disappeared under his constant state of anger and his growls. She wasn't sure if he was also more emotional at the moment, but being able to know what he felt so easily just got to her in a very direct way. There was no way pretending he was just a stoic asshole now.

"No, you're right. We would both have been in danger if we'd gone tonight," she said softly, putting her hand on his.

For the briefest of moments, he closed his, now violet, eyes, and squeezed her fingers tightly between his.

And then he let go, and moved away.

"Ya should sleep Kagome. Really. We're gonna have to move faster after tomorrow."

She frowned. He couldn't expect her _not_ to ask question now. "What's happening to you? Why are you… human?"

He let out a sound that vaguely resembled a growl, but he didn't exactly have the right vocal cords for that right now, so it sounded a bit strange.

"New moon. 'm always human on new moons."

Her eyes went wide at his admission. She had been working in the castle for a while and she had never known about it, so it had to have been a well-kept secret, but that could _not_ be good. Not with all the soldiers going around.

"And you… Were you alright?"

He grinned a little at the question, understanding instantly where she was going with it, because this was _Kagome_ , and of course she'd worry. "I was fine, Kagome. Just had to make sure I wasn't seen. Now sleep."

And it was _so_ much harder to get mad at him when there was that gentle tone in his voice, almost making her wonder if that was something that was always there and she just couldn't hear it because he was usually better at hiding it.

"Fine," she agreed with a mere roll of her eyes. "What about you?" She knew he kinda slept sitting usually, but if he was human and his body now had the same needs as hers, he'd better get some sleep as well.

"I never sleep on my human nights," he said with a shrug.

"You _should_ sleep. We're safe here. You certainly won't get much rest when we're in demon territory. You _need_ this, Inuyasha."

He scoffed, clearly offended. "That's why I _hate_ this. Humans are so weak. How do you guys even _survive_ like that?"

She was right though. He could feel the tiredness of the previous day getting to him, even if he had been a demon during it. Human nights were much harder for him than he would like to admit and, well, this was the first one since he had gotten injured. It still hadn't healed completely, and he suspected the poison was acting up at the moment, now that his defenses was down. If he wanted to be sure to make it through the night, he _should_ sleep.

But sleep on a human night was terrifying. Although… he guessed he wasn't in as much danger right now, in this room, with someone he trusted, than in his tree in the Castle with people who wanted nothing more than to get him in a moment of weakness.

He studied her face, her pleading eyes as she just waited for him to think about it instead of arguing — which was probably the best thing to do at the moment. If he had been in his usual state, he would never have listened. His instincts would have been way too strong for that, his emotions easier to repress.

"Okay."

* * *

Falling asleep hadn't been as hard as he had thought it would be. Both of them laying on the mattress that was here for her alone, as far as possible but still close enough to touch. There was no doubt for Inuyasha that everything would have been way too overwhelming on a normal night, that he wouldn't have been able to maintain that distance. While his emotions were more present on human nights, the disappearance of his instincts and of his heightened senses made things a little less… invasive.

Demons actually tended to experience things way harder than humans, so even if his emotions were more complex now, they didn't leave him as defenseless, as unable to think calmly. _He_ was the one who was just slightly less defensive and agressive. That was probably a human thing, as they didn't have to worry about being devoured or absorbed by another demon who'd want to steal their powers.

Also, Kagome made him feel calm. At ease. Safe. And much to his surprise, he had been able to just drift into sleep, simply trusting her words, for the first time in forever.

But the human him was also much more sensitive to dreams.

They had gotten far less violent ever since… Well, ever since _Kagome_ , but he woke up thrashing around, feeling fresh hands on his face, hearing gentle words whispered in his ears, still in half-daze, unable to completely break away from the horribly vivid images. Another human things maybe — those awfully _realistic_ dreams.

"Kikyo— Kikyo— I need to—"

"Shhh, everything's okay, Inuyasha. We'll find her. We'll find her."

"I couldn't save— I couldn't—"

"Everything's okay Inuyasha, I promise."

The hands pulled his head on her lap and soothingly ran through his hair, and his eyes met hers desperately. He reached out to touch her face and she gasped softly when his fingers slowly traced her cheeks and her lips.

"Don't go."

It was a broken plea, and Kagome understood, not without feeling a harsh pain in her chest, that he was _begging_ her. It was not enough to make her forget that he was thinking about Kikyo the second before, but that didn't matter right now. And even if they would no doubt put the same distance between them the next day, even if apparently those moments could only happen in the secret of the night, she could not give up on him right now. She nodded, and he closed his eyes again once he had gotten the silent promise.

"Thank you, Kagome."

There was so much he needed to thank her for. He wished he could tell her, but he hoped she knew exactly how grateful he was to her for this — for _everything_.

Never would he have imagined that she didn't. Nor that her heart was silently breaking, even as she was holding him close and promising him that everything would be alright.

But then, he didn't imagine either that hearing him say her name even while he was only half-conscious would have made her heart beat so fast.

* * *

 _Well, that's here! Longest chapter so far, and I hope you've enjoyed it! I'm not completely sure how I feel about this one to be honest. Both of them are so confused and far from the truth when it comes to what the other one's feeling it's hard to figure out what's going out in their head (what do you mean I'm the writer and I'm the one who put them in that situation?). Just to reassure some of you though — I don't plan on abandoning this. I'm fairly slow, but it also has to do with the fact that I like to work on other things, even if they're just short stories. My rhythm for the past few chapters has been to upddate approximatively once a month, which I know isn't that much compared to other authors, but I hope you won't mind that. Just don't start to worry until this point is reached ;)_

 _Please let me know what you think with a review, they're always very appreciated and definitely keep me going — it's been an eternity since I last worked on something this long and you guys have helped so much with it!_

 _See you next time!_

 _Dya._


	12. Chapter 12

Twelve

Inuyasha woke up with a start the second he started turning back, instantly alert. He knew from experience that his senses had probably been sharpening for a while now, but apparently, that hadn't been enough to get him out of his slumber. He sat up slowly, careful not to wake Kagome just yet, and took a moment to look at her. He hadn't been able to do this in a while — or, well, he hadn't _let himself_ do it in a while — and it killed him how much he'd missed it, how much he relished being able to do it right now.

He gave himself a few seconds, probably longer than needed to assess the situation, longer than he should have spent, before finally reaching out for her shoulder, shaking her awake.

"Kagome."

It took a few calls of her name before she opened her eyes, slowly, confused both by the deep but surprisingly gentle voice and the heat of the hand on her shoulder that seemed to spread through her entire body.

"Inuyasha?" she replied, voice thick with sleep, blinking several times to make his image less blurry. The silver hair and the ears were back, she noticed, part of her slightly bitter at the thought that whatever they had during the night was now gone. Again. Because maybe she was pathetic for that, and she certainly hated the feelings that surged within her, but she would take it. She'd give up on whatever else was there, inside her, if they could have even something as simple as this.

Just… Just _something_. Something for her to cling on to.

He mumbled something that vaguely sounded like "Sorry" but it was too low for her to catch it clearly and she decided not to believe it. Better that than to be disappointed when he would no doubt turn on her, _again_. "We gotta go," he continued. "Would be better to spend as little time as possible in demon territories. 's a pretty dangerous place."

She nodded, still silent, waiting for him to leave, to let go of her.

He didn't.

She frowned, staring in his golden eyes, and vaguely thought about how much she liked the color, as pretty as last night's purple was. "I need to get changed, Inuyasha."

Only then did he seem to realize what he was doing, and he pulled his hand away from her like he had just burnt himself. "Keh. Yeah. Wear something practical, 'kay? We're leaving the horse here. Wouldn't survive a day out there." _And I'd rather be protecting you than waste any time protecting it._

She frowned. "Oh. We're going to be really slow then."

"We'll figure out something," he simply answered with a shrug. "I guess I'll carry ya."

Her eyes widened, and Inuyasha found himself recoiling at her reaction. Not too long ago, he'd have told her that she had no fucking choice and that they'd do it because they weren't going to waste any time just because humans were stupidly slow. Now though? Now he would never force her to do anything, but the thought that she would refuse, or worse, that she'd be disgusted or outraged at his proposition was fucking _terrifying_.

And this was why he didn't get close to humans. He couldn't live with that fear all the time, not when they tended to be so disappointing. He had Kikyo, and that was enough.

Well. It had been enough for the longest time anyway, and he should be working to make sure it would remain like that.

He really should be.

"Oh, erm, s-sure."

Why was she stuttering? Why was she looking away from him? And why, why _the fuck_ was she blushing? For a moment, he simply couldn't tear his eyes away from her as he tried to comprehend what was going on there. He felt the urge, the _need_ to touch her, to feel her. He started to reach out, then snapped his hand back, clearing his throat.

"Just don't take too much time."

She winced at his harsh tone, and he could have slapped himself. Fuck, he… He didn't know how to handle that. He didn't want to hurt her, didn't want to make her feel like he wanted her far away from him. He knew he couldn't ask for more, but just for now, couldn't he at least have _that_? Just have her around. Be able to talk to her, without screwing it all up every five seconds. It's not like he was asking for _much_.

"I'll go talk to the innkeeper," he growled. "Get him to take care of the horse."

She finally stood up, taking a step towards him, her hand hovering above his arm before she resulted not to touch him, folding her arms instead, and the sight was so frustrating he had to hold back another growl.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at him questioningly, clearly worried. "They seem… Pretty on edge here. I don't want them to cause trouble."

"I'll be fine. They sure don't like demons, but at least they _know_ demons. They won't try anything. Just come down quick."

She nodded, and he examined her just a second longer. He didn't want her to worry. "I'll be fine," he repeated once more before storming out.

Kagome closed her eyes after his departure, letting her head hang low for a few moments. There was clearly less tension between them now, but in a way it only made it harder. It only made it hurt more.

When she got out of the room, having left behind the more elegant _kimonos_ she'd been given and having settled for the most simple one she could fine, which still felt very different to the ones she was used to wearing, the innkeeper bowed deeply, promised her that he would take great care of everything she left behind, and informed her that her "companion" was waiting for her outside.

It had to be the first time that Inuyasha wasn't simply treated as some sort of slave following her around, making her think back to his words. Shouldn't these people be even more terrified from him than anyone else? Was it truly a question of knowledge?

"Keh, about time," he grunted when she came out of the inn. "Let's start walking." He lowered his voice before adding "I'll take you on my back when we're far enough."

Kagome sighed. "So the Princess won't be seen in contact with her bodyguard. Got it."

"Somethin' like that."

HIs voice was gruff, and she couldn't help but glancing at him. She knew her remark had lacked strength, though she would have liked to get on his nerves just a bit, but he was all the same. Their relationship was changing in ways she couldn't quite grasp just yet, and she wasn't too sure how she felt about it.

"You don't… You don't think there's anything shameful about me being with you, do you?"

He glanced at her, seeming rather annoyed. "What sort of question is that?"

"Not one you can answer with that answer."

He remained silent for a while, staring straight ahead of him as they kept walking, him being surprisingly slow, mindful of her capacities.

"I don't know," he finally said. "I mean, I guess not, but that don't mean it'd be good for Kikyo or for _anyone_ to be seen with me doing, y'know, something that could be interpreted weirdly."

Hesitating, she glanced back and, since there was no one outside, she decided to take the risk and slip her hand in his. His eyes widened in surprise and he turned to look at her, mouth moving without any sound coming out. She squeezed his hand gently.

"There is _nothing_ shameful about being with you, Inuyasha. I promise. The problem doesn't come from you."

He swallowed, and didn't reply, simply hesitantly closing his fingers around her small and fragile hand. If she meant that, then what did her reaction after his kiss mean? If it wasn't him being a half-demon, it had to be… It had to be _him._

Somehow, he still liked the thought that it was his nature better.

"'kay, I think we're good now."

He knelt down in front of her, presenting her his back. "C'mon, get on." When she didn't comply immediately, he rolled his eyes. "What're ya waiting for, woman? We don't have all day!"

With some hesitance, she finally did, clinging to his shoulders as he stood back up, trying not to think about how her legs were partially revealed. She was glad what she was wearing right now didn't need to be pulled up too much, but still, she didn't feel too comfortable with it. And then there his hands gripping her thighs tightly, even through the fabric…

Inuyasha cleared his throat. "Hang on tight, 'kay? Gonna start running."

God, he _couldn't_ just get all considerate with her like this. She nodded and buried her head in the red fabric of his _haori,_ wrapping her arms around him. For one second, he seemed to tense, and she wondered why, but he quickly took off, and she shrugged it off, trying to use him to shield herself from the wind, and definitely trying not to read too much into it.

Dammit. Couldn't he make it easy on her, just this once?

Inuyasha kept running like that for several hours before declaring it was time for them — well, mostly for her — to eat, at which point he set her down, instructing her to scream if anything happened, and took off again, leaving her alone and confused. Usually, she would have immediately made some fire, but she didn't know if that would be careful, considering where they were. Wouldn't that just attract more attention to them? Not wanting to take the risk, she set herself on waiting for him, simply sitting down against a tree.

She closed her eyes, letting herself feel the environment. She had always been rather sensitive to places where she was, but she had rarely been in such a peaceful setting. No humans, anywhere. Demons, probably, however from what she knew they didn't exactly have villages or that sort of things, so the place was strangely lacking the usual agitation, the sort of constant buzz that humans make wherever they go. And yet…

It wasn't a buzz, what she felt. More… More like wind. Not the actual breeze she was feeling, no, something that almost made her shiver.

Power, she understood. Demonic energy, concentrated enough for her to actually feel it. It wasn't agressive in any way though. On the contrary, it was almost peaceful, accepting. It was terrifying in a way, knowing that it could suddenly turn on her and Inuyasha at any given time. But for now… For now she let herself relax, while waiting for him to come back.

Not one second did she worry about it. Inuyasha had told her he'd be there if anything happened, so why would she?

* * *

Inuyasha's heart was beating loudly in his ears as he hunted. He hadn't planned that. Hadn't planned that feeling her against him, holding him, _trusting_ him, would feel like that. He would have done anything to calm himself down, because he felt like he was going to catch fire _right this second_ otherwise, and that was exactly what he ended up doing.

That is, he jumped into a river he'd smelled not too far away, actually picking that spot exactly for that reason.

After letting himself cool down for a few moments, he jumped out, shook himself to get rid of some water, quickly caught some fishes, then went back to her, only to be met by her curious eyes.

"Why are you wet?"

He rolled his eyes and ignored her. "Why isn't the fire ready?"

"I— I wasn't sure the demons…"

"The ones we need to worry about already know we're here," he replied with a joyless grin.

Kagome frowned, apparently not too happy with that information, which he could understand. "Oh."

"So, are ya gonna get started on that fire?"

She glared at him. "You'd better calm down, or I swear I'll…"

"Yeah?"

He couldn't help himself as he teased her. _Bad, Inuyasha. Bad idea_. But she just looked so pretty, so _something_ that he couldn't quite place when she was getting angry at him. It was the way her eyes shone, the red color on her cheeks, the way she pushed her hair behind her ears — how had he not noticed that she did that earlier? Because that was fucking _adorable_.

"I swear you'll be _sorry_ ," she finally replied, and he just couldn't stop grinning like an idiot when he heard her, even as she started collecting wood.

He had to fight the urge to step closer to her with every inch of himself. He didn't know what was up with him right now. Maybe it was the ride he'd given her, but being away from her almost physically hurt. He had wanted to touch her before, but it had never been quite so intense. He had simply never felt something like that before and he was— He was just fucking confused. He had definitely craved _contact_ before, so he at least recognized that part of this very new feeling, but the rest was _new_ and _weird_ and he wasn't sure what to do with it.

He swallowed, averting his eyes from her as she knelt down with the wood, preparing the hearth.

"Nothin' happened?"

 _Why was he even fucking talking?_

"No problem, no," Kagome replied calmly without even looking up at him, something for which he was actually rather thankful, because he was sure he looked way too agitated at the moment. "But if they know we're here, they probably knew you weren't far away."

He shrugged. There were quite a few things here that were powerful enough to cause problems, even for him. In fact, he'd bet that if anything, they were more worried about the spiritual powers they could feel coming from her. He didn't pick up on anything when he was near, but if there was anything full demons would be better at than him, it had to be something like that. Feeling spiritual power — for simple survival reasons.

Not that that shit felt good for him by the way. He'd tested it, and thanks, but no thanks. Still, he knew he could survive it, where nothing would even be left of them if a monk attacked them.

"Keh. Are you getting somewhere with that shit?"

Kagome stood up, wiping her hands against her legs, and shot him a dark look. "It's _done_ , Inuyasha. Give me the fishes."

He handed them to her, and he couldn't believe himself when he made sure her fingers would brush against his as she took them.

The fuck was wrong with him today? Also, why hadn't he noticed the fire's smell? And could his heart stop beating so obnoxiously loud? Fucking _hell_.

"Hurry up," he mumbled. "We have to get going."

Kagome rolled her eyes again. "I _know_. What's up with you, seriously?"

Yeah. He'd have liked an answer for that too, but he guessed 'It's all your fault' just wouldn't be good enough. Or maybe it'd be too good, he couldn't tell. All the same, he was terrified by the possibility that it was right.

He mumbled something that she couldn't quite get as she started cooking, but she shrugged it off, feeling a bit miserable as she did so. They'd gone back to their _friendly_ behavior, apparently. Which was better than nothing, sure. But if felt so damn _unsatisfying._

* * *

Riding with her for the rest of the day was _hell_. Inuyasha had never thought torture could take that form. In fact, just a day earlier, he would have laughed in the face of anyone who would have said that he could suffer from touching Kagome — but that was exactly it, wasn't it? It was the touching. It had to be. It was holding her thighs in his hands, it was feeling her against his back, it was her arms around him and her breathing in his neck, her hair against his skin and her heat diffusing itself in his body.

All of that, and he wasn't able to do _anything_ about it.

What it was that he wanted to do, he wasn't sure, to be honest. He could tell she was like a magnet for him, could tell he wanted to touch her, but he still couldn't quite comprehend the strength of it all.

He wasn't _completely_ oblivious to the things of love and, well, sex. He heard the soldiers' coarse laughter about it, he could even recognize its smell, sometimes discovering it on maids, and sometimes on noblemen and noblewomen. He wasn't too sure how to feel about it. He knew demons didn't quite have the same prejudice humans had about it. At the same time, he had vaguely understood, even as a very young kid, that the fact that his mother had had sex with a demon was the biggest of the problem.

The problem being him.

The _proof_ that it had happened. Because it was one thing to love a demon, to associate with one, but _having sex_ with one? Worse, the fact that people could tell when they looked at him? That was the absolute disgrace.

He couldn't quite tell if what he felt for Kagome, this intense urge to be with her, was about desire. Wasn't sure what he should do with it if it was. He knew at least what he _shouldn't_ do though. There was one path he simply couldn't pick. For his own survival, sure, but mostly because he wouldn't be able to stand the look in her eyes, the disgust that would no doubt finally start burning in there if he did anything, as she pushed her away.

After a night he had spent jumping awake at the slightest sound, and during which he had had to growl at only a couple minor demons to send them running away, they started travelling again. Unsurprisingly, it didn't get much better for him. If anything, he would have said it was getting worse, actually.

Which was the main reason why, when they stopped to eat, he said "We'll stop here for the night."

Kagome's eyes widened as she looked up to him. " _What_? But it's only—"

"I'm _aware_ ," he growled. "But we've been followed by things and this could be a good time to train you with your powers. Might be enough to get them away."

At least he wasn't downright lying right now. One demon in particular, which he recognized through its smell, had seemed to take an interest in them earlier today and hadn't let go of them ever since. He was fairly new at demons smells, as he hadn't seen any since he had met Kikyo basically, so he couldn't quite pin it down, but there was no doubt whatsoever that it was one. It was weird though, regularly changing, with its core remaining the same. If his nose hadn't been that sensitive, it might have fooled him actually, making him think there were several different creatures. A shapeshifter, maybe? He had no idea, but he didn't like it.

Still, it hadn't shown itself, and he simply couldn't leave Kagome behind to go hunt for it. He doubted it was really powerful though, otherwise it probably already would have made a move.

" _How_ am I going to train anyway?" Kagome asked, all while feeling that she had been indulging him way too much recently. "I don't know anything about that… power, or whatever you say it is. We know I've activated twice at least— Against that frog thing and…" Her eyes drifted to his neck, and he tensed self-consciously.

The necklace was still hanging there. He had tried hiding it, especially when they stopped in inns, because he knew _everyone_ could tell just what it was, and he hated it, but he had realized that feeling it against his skin was even worse. At least, like this, he could forget about it from time to time.

"I could try to take it off," she offered softly.

Just like the first time, he shook his head vehemently. "No. You don't know anything about that stuff, and you don't need to train for that. Unless you intend to use it on other demons."

"Of course not!" she protested, shocked by the intense disgust in his voice. "I just want you to—"

"I can live with it, Kagome, okay? I'll be fine."

He had said that several times already, and still she just couldn't bring herself to believe him. It was obvious that he hated having that thing around his neck. She was starting to get used to him refusing to let her do anything for him, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

He glanced away from her. He knew his anger had nothing to do with her, but he hadn't expected to react so strongly when she had mentioned the necklace. He knew how much he despised it, but he hadn't thought that the idea of him, or any demon being basically enslaved by humans would make his stomach churn like that. Demons weren't much better with humans when they got their hands on them, sure, but there was something terribly animalizing about how humans treated others living beings, and it just made him _sick_.

"Then that leaves us with the same problem," she said slowly, anger obvious in his voice, and he knew he hadn't heard the last of it. "How am I supposed to train?"

He rose an eyebrow. "'s pretty obvious, isn't it? I mean, I could go get you some demon, but I ain't leaving you alone unless it's necessary, so…" He opened his arms, the meaning of his gesture obvious.

Kagome stared at him, completely silent for a few seconds. "Are you kid— _No_." He had rarely heard her being that final, but that didn't mean he was going to back down that easily.

"Don't be ridiculous," he snarled. "You need to be able to defend yourself."

He stood up and started walking towards her, leaving his half-eaten fish behind him, in full display. It was an obvious trap and he doubted it would do anything, but he at least had to try. If the demon went for it, it would be reassuring in terms of power and intelligence, and he may actually be able to catch it and deal with it, which would be one thing less to worry about.

She stood up in response, looking both nervous and worried.

"Inuyasha, I'm _not_ using you for training. If you're injured, it will be a much bigger problem than me using my energy."

"I heal quick," he replied with a mere shrug, taking another step, ignoring her obvious displeasure at him being so careless about getting hurt.

She put her hand up as to push him away, something they both knew to be completely useless since she would never do anything against him — not that he would ever put her in a situation where she actually needed to defend herself against him.

"I don't want to hurt you, Inuyasha," she pleaded.

He stopped then, and maybe she had imagined it, but she thought she'd seen his ear flickering to the side. She turned around, wondering what he'd heard, and then next thing she knew, his arms were around her waist, his chest pressed against her back, and his mouth was way too close to her ear for comfort.

Finally acting on all these urges he'd felt for the past two days, finally touching her in a way that was at least _slightly_ more satisfying.

"Wha—"

"What'd you do if something like that happened, K'gome?" he breathed, _so_ close to her, sending the most delightful shiver down her spine.

"I don't—"

"I _get_ that you don't want to hurt me, Kagome, I fucking do, I swear," and his voice was surprisingly warm and fond and it just _killed_ her, "but I _need_ to know that there's something you'd be able to do if somethin' like that ever happens, okay?"

She felt him take a breath, his chest heaving against her back, and she wondered how he felt about her smell now, immediately cursing her brain for going in that direction now of all times. She bit her lip to try to keep herself focusing. She tried to let her shoulders react, closing her eyes, reaching deep inside her mind to try to find that energy she'd felt before.

Inuyasha was right, technically, even though he would definitely hear from that again — he could expect his food to mysteriously be burnt for the next few days. She needed to be able to defend herself, and she couldn't just count on it manifesting whenever there was a danger. But there was a difference between that and a moment when she didn't feel any danger whatsoever, she realized when she found absolutely _nothing_ , not even the slightest spark.

Just the fire of Inuyasha against her.

"I can't find it," she said softly, all too aware once again of him _there_ , against her, _so close_.

"Well—"

"It's only ever reacted when I was in danger, Inuyasha. And I… I'm not in danger right now."

His arms around her loosened just a little, and she regretted the pang of disappointment that ran through her just then.

"What're ya talking about? We're in the middle of—"

"But I'm with _you_ ," she replied. "And as long as I'm with you, I don't feel like I'm in danger."

His breath caught in his throat, completely shaken by her words. He should have let her go just then, but he found he simply couldn't, particularly when she managed to turn in his hold, which was much more like an embrace at this point, and her eyes met his. He tried desperately to understand, to find something in there to explain to him all the things he didn't get, to finally tell him what she fucking meant by that.

The sight was so entrancing that he almost missed the movement on their left, but his reflexes did it for him.

Kagome lost her balance when Inuyasha suddenly disappeared from against her, miraculously regaining it before falling to the ground, a strange cold settling where he had just been touching her. She spun around, ready to yell at him because _what on Earth did he think he was doing_ , and that's when she found him, holding by the neck a—

"Oh my God, Inuyasha, what are you _doing_?"

He turned towards her, genuine surprise on his features, not understanding the anger in her words, only to find her storming towards him and snatching the demon from his hands.

"It's a _child_ ," she protested furiously, holding it carefully against her just like a progressive woman would. "There is no need to be so _brutal_."

"So— Kagome, it's a _demon_. A _kitsune_. That's probably not even its real appearance, for f—"

"How old are you?" she asked gently to the small, red-haired demon ignoring him completely.

"I'm six," he replied with tears in his eyes, and Inuyasha scoffed at that.

"Yeah right, and I'm—"

"You're a _dog_ -demon, shouldn't you be able to tell?" the _kitsune_ shot at him.

Inuyasha actually shut up for an instant to lean closer to him and sniff it carefully. Shit. He was telling the truth. He _was_ a kid. He looked up to see Kagome staring at him, clearly waiting for his verdict. He sighed.

"Okay, yeah, he's probably saying the truth, but—"

"Oh you _poor thing_! Were you trying to get Inuyasha's fish? Here, you can have it!"

Inuyasha grimaced. Something was telling him that he hadn't seen the last of the _kitsune_.

But it was only when he noticed the kid sticking his tongue out at him while Kagome was looking away, leaning down to pick up the fish — _his_ fish — that he realized in how much trouble he was in. Oh, _hell_ no.

He was _not_ going to let that happen.

* * *

 _OH THANK GOD THIS IS DONE! I know I'm late, but this was actually supposed to be finished and posted_ before _the Inukag week. I swear I'd started it on time for that, but this chapter just_ would not _get written. Anyway, it's here, and I hope you've enjoyed it! Yup, starting to see more characters from canon, and this won't be the last! Also, in case you're wondering, the rating for this story will probably change at some point. It should take quite some time before we get there, but it is going to happen. Please leave a review, I kept getting some while I was writing (or struggling to write) and it really helped me, seeing that people were still taking interest in this story ^-^_ _Anyway, I will see you... I can't even say soon anymore, but I hope I'll see you around!_

 _Dya._


	13. Chapter 13

Thirteen

"There you go. Feeling better already? Oh you poor thing, you were hungry weren't you? Tell me, what's your— Inuyasha, could you _stop growling_?"

The half-demon barely spared Kagome a glance, ignoring the dark look she was shooting him to focus on the _kitsune_ sitting on her lap. The kid was gulping his food down like it was going to vanish, making it obvious that he hadn't had anything to eat for a while. Inuyasha was sure Kagome had noticed that as well, and the thought of a child that young left to himself here was particularly unsettling for him.

Still. He didn't like it.

"Why were you following us?" he asked, his voice deep and threatening, the growl still rolling under his words like thunder despite Kagome's demand.

It didn't make much of an impression of the kid, who glared at him briefly with fucking _annoyance_ , and then looked away.

"Listen you little—"

"What's your name?"

Kagome's voice and attitude were the opposite of his. She was kind, gentle. Motherly. At the same time, she seemed to have completely forgotten that this was a dangerous demon who could probably kill her, should he chose to.

Or maybe she didn't care, Inuyasha thought, his heart swelling with the emotion he had become familiar with in the past weeks. Maybe to her, demons and humans were mostly the same. And somehow, even if it was just her, it made a difference.

"Shippo," the _kitsune_ finally spoke, mouth still full. "I'm Shippo."

"Kagome," the young woman introduced herself with a kind smile, "and this, over there, is Inuyasha," she added, looking up to him, still smiling, and _fuck_ , she was killing him.

"Keh!" he mumbled, glancing away, hoping he wasn't blushing. It would be one thing for Kagome to notice, but the kid? That was exactly the type of things that a fox-demon would want to use against him.

His life was turning into a nightmare.

"Kagome," the kid repeated, frowning. "You didn't know my 'pa, did you?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't, Shippo," she apologized. "Must have been another Kagome. Is your father around? Maybe we can bring you back to him— and give you some food, too."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest — what was she talking about? Who did she think was going to hunt for this food? — but the words died when he saw the kid's face closing. Inuyasha wasn't particularly good at reading people's emotions, most of the time. Unless they were clear in their smell, as it sometimes happened for fear, for example, they were a mystery to him in general. Which wasn't really a problem considering how little he interacted with people.

However, this time, he _knew_. Immediately. The face of a child who had lost the person who made his entire world.

"He can travel with us."

He didn't realize he had spoken until Kagome's head snapped up.

"He _what_?"

Shit. Too late to backtrack now, wasn't it?

"I said, he can travel with us," he growled. "It can't be worse than staying him alone, and that way he'll be able to eat." _And he'll have you._

"But…" Inuyasha glared at her. He could tell that she had picked up on Shippo's reaction at the mention of his father. Kagome was far from stupid after all, something that filled him with a weird sense of pride, and she had probably come to the same conclusion as him. Still, she didn't know much about demon lands. Truth was, maybe Shippo could survive here alone, for a while. He had. As a pure-blooded demon, maybe he would even end up being adopted by some demon family.

But it was all rather unlikely, and even then, unless they were extremely strong, there would always be others out for blood.

Particularly the people who had killed his father. Demons weren't known for their mercy, so if the kid was still alive… Either they didn't know, or they had made a mistake, and they would want to correct that.

It would be better if the kid was nowhere to be found when that would happen. And maybe, just maybe, Inuyasha would have liked for someone to take him in back when he needed help.

Kagome bit her lip, looked at the kid, and settled him on the ground to walk to Inuyasha, clearly puzzled.

"You're sure?" she whispered, probably not wanting to let Shippo hear them, though with him being a demon keeping her voice low didn't necessarily change much. Did humans truly know _nothing_ about demons? "Isn't it going to be even more dangerous for him, considering where we're going?"

"'s not going to be _more_ dangerous," Inuyasha replied between his teeth. "It's going to be dangerous, yeah, but d'ya see yourself leaving him here alone?"

Of course she didn't, and he was well aware of that, but he still felt guilty when she flinched.

"We'll figure something out, 'kay? At least he'll be safe as long as he's with us. Even if we don't take him all the way, that'll be time bought for him, alright?" Kagome frowned, and Inuyasha had to suppress a sigh. "Kagome, this is demon territory. He's not gonna make it on his own."

Finally, she nodded. "Okay. Okay— Let's do that." Then she turned around and shot the kid a smile. "Would you like that, Shippo?"

The kid's face lit up like a lantern, and next thing Inuyasha knew, he had thrown her arms around her neck and she was hugging him back with a sincere laugh.

And this was when Inuyasha realized what a huge mistake he had just made.

* * *

There was a ton of things that could have gone wrong while travelling with a demon-child. One of them, probably what worried him the most and why he kept an eye on the kid at all times at first, was that it wouldn't be surprising for a demon to hate humans, and if he hurt Kagome, Inuyasha would never be able to forgive himself. Surprisingly though, the kid seemed to have no problems with her whatsoever. They had both adopted each other immediately, and even on the first night he slept in her arms, sharing a blanket, which Inuyasha couldn't say made him _happy_.

That being said, as annoying as it was to watch them together, he knew if someone, _anyone_ , had been there for him after his mother's death, he would probably have done the same. He would have clung to them all the time, refused to be left alone. So there was no way he could try to take that away from the kid.

However, though everything was fine with Kagome, Shippo seemed to have much more contempt for _him_. It shouldn't have been a surprise, to be honest. Living with humans, he tended to forget that demons' disgust for half-demons wasn't less strong in any way. In fact, weirdly enough, there was probably more of that idea of him tainting the bloodline than for humans. Demons took their purity _very_ seriously. Go figure.

The kid hadn't said anything to him yet, but his simple presence was enough to make him wait and worry, expecting a remark at any time. Strange how this felt unusual again now. Strange how Kagome had changed his world so easily. After all, this had been the norm, simply his _life_ for years, and now that he was being forced back into it, he couldn't take it. Always being on edge, always ready, walls always up… What a shitty way to live.

Maybe in the end, this would be the worst part about letting Kagome in. Not the fact that he had had hope. Not the hole she would leave when she would undoubtedly walk out. It would be seeing how good the world _could_ be if only people let it. Knowing what he could, but would never, have, because there was nowhere where there could be only the two of them. This journey with her was all he had — and now, he didn't even have that anymore. It had slipped through his fingers and he hadn't even noticed.

But y'know what? That wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that Shippo was a _kitsune_. Inuyasha should have known what would get on his nerves the most.

"Okay I'm _done_! Where's the little fucker Kagome?"

"He's just a child, Inuyasha, come on…"

He glared at her, and the sight of the water dripping from his chin and his drenched hair almost made her loose it immediately. But no, she couldn't. He'd get _so_ mad.

"That _child_ just fucking dropped a bucket of water on my head and— Is that _funny_ to you?"

He stared at her in disbelief, while she was clearly doing everything she could to keep her lips tightly pressed together, her cheeks trembling with contained laughter despite her efforts. And there was something… Something fascinating about this sight.

Or maybe it was because he had barely been alone with her since Shippo had joined. He still had to endure her tantalizing smell, still carried her on his back, and he couldn't even enjoy her company all that much because of how much of her time and attention the kid needed — or _took_ anyway —, so maybe being with her for just a few seconds was enough for all hell to break loose.

He took a step towards her, unable to stop himself from grinning. Not that Shippo's joke was funny or anything, and the kid would fucking hear from him as soon as he'd find him, but he loved the way she looked when she was laughing. He noticed Kagome's eyes going wide, and suddenly the tension rose between them, the air separating them heating up instantly. She was _so close_ , just a couple more steps. He needed to touch her again, really touch her, intentionally, needed to—

"Ack!"

There was a devilish laugh as a giant top started spinning on his head, sending him face first into the ground, right in front of Kagome.

"Shippo!" she protested, again difficultly hiding her hilarity. "You really can't do that!"

Yeah. Thanks for the conviction.

"Where did you find water by the way?"

Was she _fucking serious_ now?

"There's a stream over there," the kid replied, vaguely indicating a direction on his left, as always so much nicer to Kagome than he was to him.

"Thank you!" Did she _have_ to be that chirpy and shit when she was talking to the kid? He didn't recall her ever being that happy when she talked to him. Not that his attitude could have played a role in that in any way, but still, it was pretty insulting. "Inuyasha," his ears perked up, "I really need to go take a bath. I—"

"In _demon territory_? No fucking way."

Kagome sighed and shook her head. She had expected that, didn't think it would be such an instinctive reaction though. She would have liked to think that it was some sort of knee-jerk reaction to protect her, but it was more than likely about not wasting time.

"We've stopped for the night already, haven't we? Plus I know you'll be able to tell if there's anything approaching."

"That ain't happening."

" _God_ , Inuyasha, if you're that worried about it you can come with me, as long as you don't _look_."

There was a delightful moment during which he kept staring at her, already opening his mouth to refuse again, and then he realized what she had said. He immediately looked away, bright red coloring his cheeks, much to Kagome's amusement, and vaguely attempted to splutter an answer.

"I wouldn't— That's—"

"Anyway," she continued, "I'm _not_ staying in that state for a day longer. You said it was this way, Shippo?" she asked, grabbing a _tenugui_ (1) to dry herself afterwards.

"Yes! Can I come with you Kagome?"

"No."

Both of them turned to face Inuyasha, who had apparently calmed down after Kagome's insinuation, and had his arms folded on his chest, all of his attention focused on Shippo now.

"Inuyasha, he's just a _child_."

"Don't care. He's a _kitsune_ and you barely know him, Kagome. I'm not leaving you alone with him. Water'll weaken your scent and I'm not taking this risk."

He sounded serious this time, and after studying his face for a few seconds, Kagome nodded with a sigh.

"Sorry, Shippo, I think we should listen to Inuyasha this time, okay? We wouldn't want him to refuse to go get us food tonight, right?"

He let out a discreet growl when the kid chuckled at her words, but she looked up at him with a smile and he instantly felt it melting in his throat.

"Why don't you let Kagome do what she wants?" the kid mumbled with his annoyingly whining voice. "Just because she doesn't want to take a bath with _you_ because you're a filthy half—"

"Shippo!"

Kagome's yell left him startled, frozen like a small animal suddenly faced with danger. She had interrupted him, but there could be no doubt in anyone's mind as to what he had been about to say. The truce was broken. Not one the kid had entered knowingly, nor had he intended anything by those words, but for Inuyasha, the peace surrounding him, surrounding the group, had suddenly vanished. Just like he had known it would the second the _kitsune_ had joined them.

He shouldn't have let his barriers down. Should have known. Should have been better prepared. That was why he stayed with Kikyo. Because it was the two of them against the world, and this way, he didn't have to worry about that stuff. If he could always think about everyone as enemies, as potential danger, he didn't have to worry about feeling betrayed.

He didn't see Kagome's worried look, the way she stared at his face, wheels turning in her head as she tried to take the best decision.

"Inuyasha, I think I should take him with me."

Her words shouldn't have stung like this, but that was fucking _fine_. She wanted to take the child after he had said _that_? Ignoring his advice, his warning, _now_ of all times? Maybe she was afraid he'd hurt him like the beast he was. Well then, why the fuck should he care?

"Whatever."

He resolutely turned his back to her, refusing to look at her. He felt numb, and it made him curse himself. He'd been telling himself for what felt like forever now that he shouldn't let himself depend on her, that the pain he risked getting in return was too great and that it wasn't worth it, and yet here he was. Disappointed by a human, yet again — and the disappointment was nothing compared to the pain, even as he tried his best to ignore it.

Kagome looked at his back for a few seconds. She wanted to reach out, wanted to say something. Even when he didn't meet her eyes, she could feel the hurt oozing out of him, leaving a prickling sensation on her skin, and she wanted nothing more than to touch him to let him know that _of course_ she didn't care that he was a half-demon. However, she thought he knew that by now. Shippo's attack didn't hurt him because of her, it hurt because of what he had targeted.

That was to say, who Inuyasha was at the core, something he could never change about himself, his very essence.

She sighed, and despite herself, she took a step towards him, her hand resting on his shoulder gently, in a gesture she tried to make comforting.

"I'll make it quick, okay?"

His muscles relaxed under her touch, and he turned his head just a little, just enough so their eyes could meet.

"Be careful."

It wasn't much more than a growl, but then he put his hand on top of hers and squeezed it briefly. Kagome smiled softly. _Are you okay?_

He nodded, almost imperceptibly. _I'm fine. Don't worry_.

She stepped away from him, and that was when he realized how close she had been — how close he had _let her_ get. He had barely even noticed. He'd known she was _there_ , of course, but the usual alarm bells hadn't gone off in his mind. Like in the dark times, he instinctively recognized her as an ally, as a friend, as…

Assuming they had probably covered enough ground, he started walking in the direction of the stream, a silent predator in the forest. He needed to be able to hear them, though he was _not_ trying to catch a glimpse of Kagome. Keh, what kind of person did the woman think he was?

Not… Not that he'd particularly mind, if he was to be completely honest, which he would _not_ be in front of her, but this wasn't the fucking moment to waste time with that stuff. They were in demon territory, with creatures awaiting the right moment to kill them, lurking around, probably watching their every move. He caught glimpses of them at night, when she was sleeping — point was, he would not let himself be distracted.

Still, he thought as he stopped when he started hearing her voice, he wouldn't _mind_ , and that likely had to do with those strange urges he had been experiencing around her recently. The need to touch her, to feel her against him, or just to have her around, to have her _close_ , and now that strange temptation that _she_ had implanted in his head.

He had never quite felt it like _that_ before. Sure, he had noticed that the small amount of skin she revealed when she climbed on his back had the strangest effects on him, but the idea that she was just a few meters away, naked, water dripping from her wet hair and onto her pale shoulders, then making its way on…

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He hadn't had a minute to himself since _forever_ , and therefore hadn't even had the possibility of letting his mind drift like this, but of course imagining it would be a fucking _terrible_ idea.

Not that he was particularly used to that shit. This was, in fact, fairly new to him. He had never even _dared_ thinking of touching Kikyo, but everything about Kagome took him in directions he had always carefully avoided considering. Love. Happiness. The future. And now, clearly, desire.

The thing was, he knew what happened when a human and a demon did that sort of things, and he doubted they'd care much for the subtlety of him being a half-demon. Not to mention, even with her insinuation earlier today, which he resolutely refused to consider as flirt, he doubted Kagome would want anything to do with him. They were out of time here, he told himself. There was no one to judge them, but they'd probably be back soon, and what then?

Somewhere, deep down, he knew he was lying to himself. Knew that Kagome had always cared for him, and that he was always the one to raise objections to how close she was to him — for Kikyo's sake. Knew that it was in fact probably unjust of him to put the blame on her shoulders, because _if_ anything ever happened, which it wouldn't, because she didn't like him like that, but _if_ she did, she wouldn't be the one to put an end to it.

He would.

Because he would never, ever, let Kagome become like his mom.

The realization settled in deeply, like an enormous weight on his chest. He took a deep, painful breath, then turned in the direction of the stream. He couldn't see her from here, but once again, an image imposed itself to him.

Once more, he closed his eyes.

Never. He could never have her.

As he often did in moments like this, the way he had when he had found himself all alone in the demon territory years ago, the way he had when he had realized there was nothing he could do against the guards at the castle, the way he had when he had understood how much he cared about Kikyo exactly, Inuyasha wished he could disappear.

What was the point of him being in this world, if this world didn't want him in it?

* * *

He was waiting for them when they came back. Despite everything he had just told himself, he couldn't help it when his eyes went to Kagome, who had all of her hair on one shoulder, revealing her neck, and immediately he could feel _something_ in his stomach, urging him to take advantage of it, to discover the taste of her skin once more.

 _Once more_.

Right. It had happened before. The taste flashed in his mind and on his tongue, intoxicating, the memory of her body against his driving him almost insane.

Then, Kagome cleared her throat, and he blinked, wondering how long he had spent there simply staring at her.

"Shippo has something to tell you, don't you Shippo?"

The kid sniffed then nodded, and this was when Inuyasha finally looked at him. The boy's eyes were red, and he looked like he had cried, which confused him. _Kagome_ had made _a kid_ _cry_? What the hell?

"I'm sorry," Shippo mumbled.

Inuyasha was vaguely conscious of his mouth dropping open. Wait, what?

"I shouldn't have said that," the kid continued. "I just wanted to be mean to you but I still shouldn't have said that. I don't think you're— filthy or anything. My 'pa didn't either." This time, there were tears in his voice. "I'm sorry."

Inuyasha nodded.

"That's okay. Thanks, kid."

He almost surprised himself when the words left his mouth, and then he realized. He meant them. Some kid telling him he was sorry certainly did not erase what he had gone through in his life, and if some monk from the castle, Ungaï, hell, even Kaede, had said something like that, it wouldn't even have come _close_ from making him feel better.

But for Shippo to realize he was wrong, yeah, it was somehow better. Not perfect, because it didn't mean he wouldn't do it again, but it did soothe him.

Even if it was just a bit.

His eyes went to Kagome, who was observing him carefully, somewhat in retreat, and he gave her a brief nod.

She responded with a hesitant smile. Truth was, she felt like shit. It was only half-way to the stream that she realized the role she played now in the situation, and how her reaction had probably hurt him. Not that her feelings were what mattered, because right now, they didn't, but she still felt shitty about it. She had tried to push Shippo in the right direction with questions, the way her mom used to do with her and Sota. _Why did you say that? Did you mean it? Do you think half-demons are lesser than demons? Do you think I'm lesser than you for being human? How do you think it must have made Inuyasha feel? Do you think that's normal? What can you do now?_

He had seemed to struggle a bit at first, being voluntarily dismissive, which she didn't particularly blame him for. He was a child, demon or not. That was not an excuse though, and since she refused to leave him alone, she had to make sure he wouldn't risk hurting Inuyasha like that again when they would continue their journey. The look on Inuyasha's face when Shippo had started the sentence… There was the hurt, the anger, the shock, sure, but what had hit her was the _betrayal_. And she knew she had a big part of responsibility in that.

"C'mon, let's get back," Inuyasha said, moving his head in the direction of the camp.

Her shoulder brushed against his as she walked past him and she heard him take a sharp breath, then felt the tip of his fingers trail on her arm, finally coming to rest on her shoulder as he leaned in and whispered a discreet, hushed "Thanks". When she turned to him, taken by surprise, his hand was already gone, way too fast, as always, and she almost wondered if she had just imagined it.

* * *

She didn't get a chance to talk to him again until late in the night, when Shippo was fast asleep. Inuyasha was sitting by the fire, against a tree, capable of being awake the next second if needed. In fact, as soon as she started moving under the blanket, his eyes opened, just enough for her to see the golden glow under his eyelids. She had once found it unsettling, but now it was only reassuring to know that those eyes were watching over her. She grabbed another blanket from their package, then walked up to him, throwing it at him before letting herself fall next to him to enjoy it as well.

"You _never_ use the second blanket," she scolded him. "How are you never cold?"

"I ain't human," he mumbled, "and you might need it. What are you _doing_?"

She ignored the warm, fuzzy feelings she got from him saying he didn't use it for her benefit, because dammit, this wasn't sweet, he needed to take better care of himself!

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay," she said, deciding that could wait and she wouldn't change him in a day.

"Keh," he scoffed, but he was grinning. "'m fine. You made the kid apologize, and now everything's good."

"I didn't _make him_ , Inuyasha," she sighed without missing the sarcasm in his voice. "He understood, that's different."

"Yeah," he admitted, his voice softening a bit. "You made him, though."

"He meant it. I have nothing to do with it."

He scoffed again but shook his head. Maybe she was right in a way and what the kid had said was already there, just a bit deeper. Whatever it was, he was thankful. He wanted to preserve this bubble that was around him at the moment for as long as possible. A place where he could pretend he wasn't different.

"You should go back to your bed," he said when she moved to rest her head on his shoulder. This wasn't a good idea. He loved the soft comfort she gave him by just being there, but being so close to her, under that sheet? Given the place his thoughts had been going earlier today, he didn't trust himself.

Not that he didn't have control over himself — he just feared he wouldn't have enough to stop himself before he did something that would make her hate him forever.

"I don't think you're filthy, or disgusting, or anything like that, Inuyasha," she said softly.

She felt him breathing deeply.

"Yeah. I think I know ya don't."

She sighed.

"I'm sorry that happened."

He shook his head. "I was the one who offered to let the kid stay, remember? There's no way you can help that stuff, y'know. People are like that with half-demons on both sides of the border. That's how it is."

She closed her eyes briefly. She didn't know what to say. She knew he heard that stuff every day, knew he saw it in everyone's eyes, read it on everyone's mouth. Implying he was wrong would only mean dismissing his experience, and there was no way she would do that. But it killed her to hear his bitterness, to know he felt like that and there was nothing she could do.

Before she could truly think about it, her mouth was open, and the question was slipping out. "Can I touch your ears?"

He turned around, forcing her to remove her head, now facing her fully.

"What? _Why_?"

She shrugged.

"I've just… been thinking they were cute ever since I met you."

She blushed as he just kept staring, and then, very slowly, he tilted his head forward, presenting them to her.

"Careful," he warned, and somehow she could practically _hear_ him blush. "If you pull on them, I'll bite your fingers off."

She laughed, and he held back a contented purr. Then, softly, delicately, she reached for his ears, and he froze. She traced them with caution, then rubbed them hesitantly, discovering with mild surprise that the fur was soft and thick, feeling truly like that of a dog. They bent easily under her fingers, though she did her best not to be forceful — the last thing she wanted was to hurt him. If anything, she wanted him to _understand_. She knew what he was going through, even if she wasn't experiencing it, but she was _certain_ there were people like her out there. People who would think his ears looked nice rather than horrifying, people who just wouldn't care.

She also knew there weren't that many of them, and that he hadn't met much, but God, she wanted him, she needed him to know. This world was worth living in.

She didn't know quite know when she stopped touching his ears to play with his hair — his long, silver hair, that definitely weren't human either — nor when he had moved his head up again, but at some point, she found herself staring in his eyes.

Beautiful, golden eyes, that made her feel like she was staring straight into his soul. She found him vulnerable and waiting. Maybe for her to push him away, or, or, or maybe…

She leaned in.

Their first kiss had been desperate and unplanned, unexpected. This one was slow and deliberate. She knew exactly what she was doing as she moved closer ever so slowly, her eyes never leaving his. She waited for him to give her a sign, to give her _something_. She knew she had told herself that they would be _friends_ , and she knew that he loved someone else.

But she wanted this, and it looked like he didn't mind.

Her lips found his very softly, as she barely pressed her mouth against his, like he was about to break at her contact. His hand moved to place itself on her waist, with just enough pressure that she knew he wanted her to stay.

His lips started to move as he kissed back, the soft sound swallowed by the noises of the forest at night. He felt warm — or maybe she was the one who felt warm, she realized as heat bloomed everywhere inside her. She moved her arms behind his neck, pulling herself against him, and he let out a soft groan when her breasts came in contact with his chest. The pressure of his hand increased, and soon, she found herself clumsily climbing onto his lap, pulling his head back to have a better access to all the sensations he gave her, to his warmth, to his mouth, to _him._

His hands refused to leave her waist, but they gripped her tightly, covering as much space as they could, spread widely on her hips.

"K'gome, what are you doing?" he asked between kisses.

"You didn't give an explanation if I remember correctly," she whispered, feeling herself blushing and hoping there was more assurance in her voice than she felt.

He sighed, and she could have sworn it was a sigh of satisfaction, as he pulled on her hips a little more.

"Kagome…"

She loved the way he said her name. Loved how charged it was with emotions, and loved the way he said it, like she was precious, like he cared for her.

Like he loved her.

"D'ya mind— D'ya mind sleeping here?"

Her eyes went wide, and he immediately glanced away.

"I don't— I mean you can go with the kid if you want, 's just easier to keep an eye on you if—"

"Sure."

He didn't look up at her, just nodded as she awkwardly moved away from here. He couldn't help but let his fingers linger on her as she found a place right next to him, her head right against his thigh.

He felt good then, almost happy. Like this was the right place, where she should be. Next to him. He chose to ignore the beating of his heart that was almost killing him, once again. There were too many things to sort through right now for him. More importantly perhaps, he didn't want any of this to be happening out of pity, just because of what had happened today.

Before, the sun rising had always meant putting more distance between him and her. It had always meant the magic of the night was ending. Here though, no one would say a thing.

So for the first time in forever Inuyasha found himself looking forward to the next day.

* * *

(1): _Tenigui_ : basically a towel

* * *

 _IT'S HERE! I started working on this chapter weeks ago but I really couldn't get past the first few scenes for some reason — in fact I haven't been able to finish_ anything _in weeks. Still not too sure how much I like it, to be honest, but things are going to get really serious next chapter so I hope you appreciated this one. Please leave a review, it's always so good to know whether or not you're enjoying the story!_

 _I'll see you soon,_

 _Dya._


	14. Chapter 14

Fourteen

Kagome woke up alone the next morning. She realized immediately that Inuyasha's heat was gone, and hurt bubbled painfully in her throat. She couldn't _believe_ herself. How many times did she need to get hurt to finally _learn her lesson_? She shivered and wrapped herself tighter in her blanket, feeling the autumn morning's cold seeping all the way through to her bones. Soon enough, the tears started pricking her eyes, so she tilted her head, trying her best to contain them.

If she was more attached to him than he was to her, it was her own damn fault, and she would die before she let him know about it.

"Everything okay?"

She jumped at Inuyasha's voice and spun around. He was walking back in the clearing, and she immediately noticed how tense his shoulders were and the way he moved. It screamed danger, and it was a sudden but brutal reminder of where they both were. She cursed herself silently for having forgotten it, not to mention let herself be overwhelmed by emotions. This was _so_ not the moment!

"I'm fine," she replied, possibly a little too quickly. Another day, maybe it would have worried her how easily the lie left her lips. Maybe it would have made her ask when, exactly, was the last time those words had been true. "What's going on?"

"Wake the runt. We need to get moving."

She obeyed quickly. If there was one thing she'd learned since they'd started to travel together, it was that doing what he asked saved her from some painful altercation that he would win anyway, but also that Inuyasha generally knew what he was doing. And in such situations, she definitely trusted him.

The conversation would have gone very differently if he hadn't looked so much on edge, but she didn't even think about protesting.

She jumped to her feet to get Shippo and quickly gather what little luggage they were carrying. She missed the way Inuyasha studied her as she started moving, the way he sniffed the air in her direction then frowned, looking confused.

Shippo complained a little, but she shushed him quickly, and once he was actually awake, his expression changed completely. He glanced at Inuyasha in horror, but the half-demon wasn't focused on them. Kagome wasn't oblivious to their attitude, of course, however she couldn't notice or understand everything about it. She walked towards Inuyasha, and only heard the low growl coming from his throat when she arrived beside him.

She swallowed with some difficulty, and rubbed her temples. There was a discreet, distant pain starting somewhere in her head, and there was just _something_ in the air that made it harder to breathe. A memory from a time long forgotten appeared in her mind — her grandfather, talking about the way demonic energy can affect sensitive people. She'd mostly ignored him, shaking it off as something she would never have to worry about.

There was no way she could have known then, of course, but she bitterly regretted not listening now.

"Inuyasha?" she called, her voice sounding extremely quiet in the heavy silence that was reigning on the forest.

When he didn't turn around, she reached for his shoulder. Almost immediately, his hand flew to her waist, pushing her behind him, shielding him with his body like it was a reflex. It lingered there just a little too long, enough to send a delightful wave of heat through her, even though this was, again, the worst moment possible for that sort of things.

What had she been thinking _just when she'd woken up_ , literal _moments_ ago, dammit?

But then, Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder to look at her, and it appeared to her that somehow, he wasn't concerned just about whatever had made both him and Shippo freeze and that even she could tell was a threat.

"You sure you're okay?"

She wasn't — of course she wasn't. She didn't want to die. She'd feared dying several times since they'd started travelling, of course, but somehow, she _knew_.

There was a predator coming for them. Something that had hunted and murdered her kind for centuries. Something that still did, whenever it had the chance. And right now, it did.

Then, there was the whole thing around her being in— around _whatever it was she was feeling for Inuyasha_ , that he clearly didn't feel and it hurt so bad. But now wasn't the time for this conversation, obviously. Apparently, it wasn't the time for _anything_. Somehow, though, she couldn't just blatantly lie in his face, not when there was this hint of worry shining in his eyes, where there usually was only anger.

He couldn't make it easy on her now, could he? No, he had to— he had to _care._

She gave him a brief, silent nod that seemed to satisfy him. He squeezed her waist for one second, then turned back, kneeling in front of her. She didn't need him to tell her anything. She climbed onto him deftly, secured Shippo and their packages, then finally wrapped her arms around him.

The next second, they were gone.

She'd thought Inuyasha was fast before. She'd thought about how really, her being by his side with the horse had only slowed them down the entire time, but this was when she finally understood how true that was.

She buried her head in his hair to shield herself from the wind, and vaguely thought about what would happen to her if she fell, before realizing that no matter what, Inuyasha would never let that happen. She could tell that from the way he was running for their lives, when he could have so easily left her and Shippo behind, but somehow, she could mostly tell that from the way he held her. Both firmly and carefully, like she was something precious he refused to let go of.

A soft smile made its way on her face. Maybe… maybe she'd misunderstood what had happened this morning. Maybe she'd misunderstood the first time, too. She hated giving herself hope — the thought that it could be taken from her any minute terrified her —, but in the end, hope was all she had. And yeah, perhaps it was stupid to daydream about what could be here and now, when everything could end at _any_ second, but all she _had_ was now.

Just as that last thought crossed her mind, she felt a sharp pain in her neck.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

Inuyasha didn't slow down until he couldn't smell the scent anymore. The most animalistic part of his brain whispered to him that something was wrong, that whatever had been after them had _slowed down_ , not been distanced. Usually, he ignored what came from that part of him. His instincts, everything that connected him to his demonic half was something he'd done his best to reject over the years. It had been his monster part, the disgusting side that made everyone hate him, and he'd been all too conscious of that.

It always took over in times of danger, though, and it had saved his life more often than he could tell. Sometimes he'd thought that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't just a half-something. He was whole. Nothing about him was secondary.

Until, of course, reality kicked in. That stuff didn't matter. In the end, he would always be _perceived_ as a half. There wasn't a better side, not for him.

Most of the times, he repressed his instincts until he couldn't fight them anymore. Right now, however, he didn't identify the thought as demonic, nor as human for that matter. It was just… there, and he accepted it as fact.

He still stopped after a while, mostly to check on Kagome. The second he let go of her thighs, he felt her falling, and he caught her just in time to avoid her hitting the ground.

"Kagome?"

Fuck. _Fuck_. He could have _sworn_ their pursuer hadn't gotten close enough to attack them, even if it had had a—

Right. He'd been around humans for so long he had, somehow, simply not thought about how fucking different they were, particularly in a fight.

What a _fucking moron_.

"Kagome?"

His voice sounded far away and raspy to his own ears, and some other time, he'd have cursed himself for showing that much emotion, for allowing himself to even _feel_ so much for that girl. But right now, he was looking at her body, limp in his hands, head falling back, arms lifeless— _lifeless_.

"Kagome."

He kept repeating her name like it could help, like it would somehow summon her back to him. Carefully, slower than he'd ever moved, he laid her down, one of his hand delicately holding her head.

Finally, with so much more effort than it should have taken him, he managed to focus on her, and the relief that flooded his system when he realized that _she was still breathing_ almost suffocated him. He cradled her against him, pressing his mouth against her head for a silent kiss.

 _Thank you. Thank you. Thank you._

"I think something hit her," Shippo whined, bringing him back to his senses.

He let go of Kagome, resting her on the ground, and glared at the kid who cowered under his look. He didn't try to hide like he'd done before though, just looked at the ground, and Inuyasha recognized his expression all too well. Guilt. That was definitely guilt.

The guilt a child feels when his mother's illness takes her away from him. Guilt for something he couldn't have stopped. Guilt, because somehow, all emotions are easier to handle than sadness.

Part of him still wanted to snap, wanted to blame the kid for Kagome's state, because he was there and that meant he'd have someone to take his anger out on, but it just felt wrong. Yelling at someone over her body… She'd have hated it. She would have scolded him, and she would have shaken her head, and he would have complained, but secretly he would have liked even the bad things, as long as she was talking to him, as long as she was by his side.

Why _the fuck_ was he thinking like she was already gone?

"What happened?" he asked, voice low, refusing to dwell on that last thought, refusing to admit to himself that Kagome's smell was telling him she only had hours left, refusing to listen to the demonic part that he'd fully accepted merely moments ago, when he thought he still had her.

Shippo's lower lip trembled at the anger rolling under Inuyasha's words, but he lifted his chin to look at him. "There was— There was _something_. I'm not _sure_ , because— because it didn't smell like anything, and I didn't really— I didn't really see it either, but… But there were two dots on her neck, like a snake bite, and then it was gone, and, I don't know, I thought she'd have fallen if there was a problem, but then you stopped and she _did_ , and I didn't see it coming and I didn't do anything to stop it and—"

He had to pause as heavy tears started rolling down his cheeks. He tried wiping them, but they just kept flowing, and Inuyasha knew the feeling all too well.

Shippo had thought he'd been given a second chance. That he had found a new family, that he wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

That was Kagome's magic, wasn't it?

She'd managed to make even _him_ believe that, after all.

Oh, hell. Fuck his instincts. Fuck his pessimism. Fuck both his human and his demon half. If neither of them could save her, and if they were both telling him that he shouldn't even try, he didn't need either.

"Show me," he ordered, lifting Kagome against him again. Her head rolled against his chest, and another time, he would have appreciated the closeness, the intimacy. He would have thought about how beautiful she looked, and about how much she had to trust him to let herself fall asleep in his arms, or even just with him around, and that would have made his heart swell like few things ever had.

But Kagome wasn't aware of anything right now, and there was no way he could think any of that if she didn't know it.

Shippo hesitated briefly, then pointed to a spot on her neck. Inuyasha examined the zone carefully. The kid had been right, there was nothing to see there. It felt like there was a light bump when he touched it, but his hands were calloused and rough, and maybe he was just imagining it.

Still, there weren't that many possibilities. He took a deep breath, lifted her a little closer to him, and bit down on her neck as carefully as possible.

The second he tasted her blood, he knew for sure that something was wrong — terribly wrong. It wasn't poison, however, and somehow that made it even more terrifying. There was _something_ in there though. Something he couldn't identify, and therefore… Something he couldn't cure.

He spat some of it on the ground, already reaching for the balm queen Kaede had given Kagome. He'd _hoped_ it would be poison, but he kept remembering that this was demon territory. He knew almost nothing of what could come to them now.

This was his fault. He should have done better. He should have known better. He should have been faster. He should have realized something was out there sooner. There was no way Kagome could have been aware of any of that.

Then, Kagome coughed, and her eyes opened slowly. She blinked a couple of times, and when she tried to pull herself up, he was there, holding her against him, lifting his leg so she could rest against it.

"There's someone in my head," she whispered.

 _Laughter. Hard, grating, creating deep cuts inside her mind. "Is that all you've got, little priestess? I thought you would be a stronger prey."_

The next sentence came out in a sob. "I don't want to hurt you." She was practically begging, and Inuyasha's jaw clenched.

"You won't." He sounded so sure of himself that Kagome really, really wanted to believe him. But that voice just wouldn't _shut up_.

 _"_ _I really thought you were the princess, but she would have put up much more of a fight. You're her replacement, though, aren't you? I mean, in that case, I guess you'll do…"_

Tears that she couldn't control started rolling down her cheeks. They were tears of frustration, because it was so _hard_ to talk and to think, and they were tears of anger, because who the _hell_ did that woman think she was? She didn't get to talk about her like she wasn't there. She wouldn't let herself be used.

 _"_ _Little priestess, shining so bright in the demons' land. It's a miracle you haven't burned the half-breed yet, but don't worry. That time will come soon."_

No. She wouldn't let her.

"I don't know how long I can hold her back, Inuyasha. I don't know— don't know how to get her _out._ "

He wasn't saying anything, but for once, she could tell what he was thinking just by looking at him. This was bad. His ears were drooping on his head, his expression was more serious than it usually was, even the way his thumb caressed her cheek— she could read him like an open book. And again, there was this unusual worry in his eyes that simply didn't suit him. She would have liked it so much better if he'd been angry. Then she would have been sure he was still fighting.

 _"_ _Just let go, little priestess. Do you really want to waste your energy to protect him? You should choose where you build your walls. If you let me use you, you might have your chance when I do something so much worse to you._ "

She gritted her teeth. She couldn't even tell what was happening. She just knew she needed to hold on. She would never forgive herself if she let that woman hurt Inuyasha in any way.

"I don't—"

"You need to find something, Inuyasha," she interrupted him. She knew she didn't have that much time. The pain in her neck had brought her back, but being awake was proving to waste too much energy, and fighting sleep was just going to exhaust her sooner. "I need you— I need you to find _something_ , okay? Don't— don't give up on me just yet."

She saw him nod in a blur, vaguely heard him talking to Shippo.

"…heard about…village…heal…far…"

There was another laugh, one that told her how convinced the woman was that this was a battle she couldn't win.

 _"_ _He said someone might be coming, said I should be ready. But really, little priestess, if this is all you have to offer, I didn't need to get ready. I could do this in my sleep._ "

Oh, in her sleep, really?

She'd _show_ her.

* * *

Once Inuyasha managed to get her on his back again and he knew Shippo was holding tight, ready to use his magic to catch her should any problem arise, he started running again. His human side was screaming at him that this was madness. He was running _away_ from Kikyo, to save a girl who should never have been any of his business. He was betraying the person he'd sworn to protect, the person who'd saved his life and who had provided him with a home.

His demonic side shrugged it off more easily, but still told him she was a dead girl walking — except that she couldn't even walk. It also didn't forget what she'd said, about hurting him, and told him that the safest choice would have been to dump her somewhere and keep going without her.

Only he refused to do any of that. Kagome _needed_ him.

 _Kikyo needs you too. She's been with that monster for weeks now. Who knows what's happening to her right now, while you're trying to save someone who's not even going to be around when you come back?_

He knew that. He fucking knew that. He knew that Kagome would be going back to her family anyway, and that no matter what he thought was going on between them, nothing would ever come of it. Because he was a half-demon, and because he was Kikyo's bodyguard and he'd always stay by her side.

Somehow, that thought gave him some comfort. Yeah. He'd stay by Kikyo anyway, so— so he could at least have this, couldn't he? He'd be alone forever after that. Well, not alone exactly, he'd always have Kikyo, but not the way he had Kagome. This wasn't even about his feelings for either of them, it was just facts. Kikyo could never pay as much attention to him as Kagome did. Not that he blamed her — he would never. No, Kikyo just had so much stuff on her plate, he couldn't give her one more chore to worry about.

Except he wasn't a chore to Kagome.

He sped up, ignoring the shriek coming from Shippo as the kid gripped his _haori_ tighter. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for. It was a myth, at best a rumor, and even Shippo, who'd lived here his entire life, wasn't sure it actually existed. Yeah, his entire life wasn't that long, but Inuyasha wasn't sure how he could have missed it. That brought their chances of finding the place close to zero, if it even existed. It wasn't like him to bet everything on something impossible, but it didn't feel like he had a choice. She'd asked him not to give up on her, so he wouldn't. It was as simple as that.

"'round here?" he asked, knowing the kitsune's abilities would let him hear him despite the wind. "'s that what your father said?"

"I think so," Shippo yelled, "but I'm not even sure you're talking from the same thing he was!" He didn't say how ridiculous he thought Inuyasha's idea was. Demons and humans, living in harmony in one village? Ha! Even if the demons didn't exterminate each other and didn't kill all the weak humans, they would be the ones who wouldn't stand having them around. Preys and predators don't mix well — and with humans, it wasn't easy to know which side they were on.

Inuyasha didn't reply. He didn't think he was smelling anything, but people said that there was a barrier around the village, so that wasn't a surprise. He thought he might be able to perceive that upon approaching it, and then he'd have to figure out a way to cross it, or at least to get the attention of people inside it so they'd be able to take care of Kagome. He wasn't sure what he'd do then. Leaving her there would probably be the smartest thing to do, actually. He should never have let her go on demon territory. He hadn't even _intended_ to use her the way the Queen had suggested… Had he?

In the beginning, maybe, but surely, not for a while now, right? Then _why_ had he taken her with him? He'd talked about how her aura would get the small fry away from them, and it hadn't been a lie, but it was nowhere near enough to justify his decision.

He didn't get to go any further in his reflexion. There was a movement in front of him, and he barely had the time to brace for impact before it hit him. He was sent flying backwards, groaning in pain. It wasn't just because of the strength with which the thing had been thrown, he had a burning sensation where it had come in contact with his skin, one he didn't recognize.

This was definitely not a normal weapon. It wasn't filled with spiritual power, either. It was… something else. Something he didn't think he had ever encountered.

Deftly, he switched's place Kagome so he'd be holding her in his arms and she wouldn't get hurt in the landing. Once he was sure she was safe, he looked for his assailant, who'd somehow managed to get close enough to them to attack them without him noticing, or even smelling them.

It was only then that he detected the discreet but familiar scent, a mix of salt and of something burning, that, to him, identified spiritual powers. It was very well hidden, much better than he'd ever seen when coming from the monks at the castle, which explained why he hadn't noticed it before, but he still cursed himself for it. This was about Kagome's life, he didn't have this luxury!

His eyes followed the weapon, but it wasn't until it stopped that he identified it. _Boomerang_. Even from a distance, it radiated something dangerous, something he hadn't experienced before. Something not unlike what came from demons, except this was an inanimate object, and he didn't understand how it was even possible.

Finally, he managed to tear his eyes away from the strange weapon, to the person who had stopped it. Long, black hair tied on top of the skull, dark eyes shining above the mask that covered the mouth, a long, slender figure in a black and pink costume that had definitely been designed for fighting.

He lost sight of her for a second as he landed, doing his best not to shake Kagome too much even while he slid on the ground, the impact of the boomerang still echoing in his bones.

"What are you doing here? What happened to that girl?"

The woman's voice was harsh, and he instinctively started growling back at her. For the first time, he identified a human fighter with no spiritual powers as a threat, and he didn't like it one bit. That meant he had no idea what to expect from her.

"Calm down, my dear," a man's voice came from the bottom of the tree, "let's try to see if we can solve this peacefully, shall we?"

She scoffed, then jumped down from the tree while throwing the boomerang on her back. The movement was executed perfectly, and that would only have worried Inuyasha more, if he hadn't been entirely focused on the man. The fact that he hadn't noticed him before and the way he was lowering his hands made him think he was the one who'd had the barrier up.

He ignored the woman when she replied, rolling her eyes "I _barely_ hit him", instead studying the man's clothing, which confirmed exactly what he'd thought. A monk. He'd found a monk.

Then maybe… Maybe there _was_ hope.

"Please." His voice came out almost painfully. He wasn't one to ever ask for anything, and now he was practically begging. He would have hated it usually, but it didn't matter now, not when Kagome was pressed against his chest, her breathing shallow, fighting for herself. Not when she needed him, and this was so easy for him to do. "Please. She needs help."

* * *

"I see," the monk finally said after the eternity during which Inuyasha had frantically tried to explain to him what had happened, probably throwing in way more informations than he had to know.

"So? Are ya going to be able to help her?"

The woman clicked her tongue, and Inuyasha shot her a dark look. She hadn't said much since the beginning of the encounter, and she could keep it like that, as far as he was concerned. The way her face had darkened when he'd mentioned they came from the Castle and were working for the Queen was more than enough for him to know what kind of person he was facing.

"I might," the man replied, kneeling behind Kagome and slowly lifting her head on his knees, "but I can't promise you anything. If I'm right about this, I will only be able to give her a little push. She's the one who'll have to do most of the work."

Inuyasha started growling again. If there was nothing he could _really_ do, should they even be here? There might still be time. It wouldn't be dark until at least another couple of hours, he could still look elsewhere…

The man shook his head, studying Kagome's unconscious body with a mix of confusion and wonder. "Sango, she's burning so _bright_. It's a miracle she hasn't hurt him yet. I don't know how they could possibly have missed this. She's like an uncut jewel…"

"Just get to work," the woman replied, her eyebrow twitching generally, and somehow, Inuyasha could practically hear the rest of the sentence. " _And stop comparing other girls to jewels when I'm standing right there_."

He had to agree with her on that.

"Ah, but this demands a light touch, it's not something I—"

" _Miroku_."

He sighed, but closed his eyes, and appeared to focus on Kagome. From where he was, Inuyasha could tell power was flowing between his hands, making him want to run away from what was, to a demon, his natural predator. He resisted the urge, of course, but he still felt incredibly useless now, and worry shot through him without warning. He started pacing back and forth, eyes never leaving Kagome in case he had to rip the monk away from her, until the woman rose a hand.

"Stop that. I know he doesn't look like much, but I can assure you, if there is any way to save her, Miroku will find it. You're not helping. Now, what do you know about Naraku?"

He resisted the temptation of biting her head off, at least for now. "Fucking strong," he said, anger obvious in his voice. "Poisonous, can probably fly. Doesn't work alone— there's a woman and a weird-ass creature with him. Does some shit with barriers. Can regenerate himself, I guess. Why? Got a problem with him too?"

She nodded darkly. "Him and his henchmen have been raiding the village for months. We're not sure how they keep making it past the barrier but", her throat tightened, "they killed my father last time. He was the chief of our warriors and we just— We can't keep losing people."

"A village of demons and humans," Inuyasha said. Parts of him still had a hard time believing it was at all possible.

Sango tensed and when she looked up at him, daggers were shining in her eyes. "If I even think you'll breathe a word of that to your masters, I _will_ end you. Got it?"

He showed her his teeth in reply. He didn't like her tone, but she was probably right to get defensive about it. They'd hate it, and it was probably the best way to protect the village. He almost felt envious just then, about their way of living, and for the briefest of second, he imagined what it would be like, to live with them, in a place where they were all accepted alike, with maybe, by his side—

Kagome whimpered, and he was above her in a second, his fist gripping the monk's robe tightly. Almost immediately, Sango's boomerang was at his throat.

"Let. Him. Go."

He looked down at Kagome. Her face was contorted like she was in pain, and it almost killed him just to look at her like that, but when he looked at the monk, he realized he hadn't even moved, probably hadn't even noticed him. He seemed to be in pain, too, and Inuyasha slowly released him, then stepped back.

"He's doing his best," Sango told him, her voice a little softer. "I promise you, we'll do everything we can to save her. For now, we have to trust them."

"What can we _do_?"

She shrugged. "There are things you and I can't reach. So for now… We just have to wait."

It was obvious she wasn't happy about it. She was clearly a woman of action. He guessed that like him, she would much rather tackle a problem to the ground and beat it until she had found a solution than trust someone else with it and sit around doing nothing. From her attitude though, it seemed she'd learned the hard way that some problems didn't require her help solving. Inuyasha studied her for a moment, then begrudgingly took a seat next to her.

This was bullshit, _bullshit_ , but he couldn't bring himself to interrupt them. So he leaned against the tree, closed his eyes.

And waited.

* * *

 _It's done! It's finally done! I apologize for the delay for this chapter. There was a big decision I had to make about where the story was going to go (you probably can't see it, but there would have been a significant difference in the chapter if I'd made a different choice, and, well, I didn't), which took me a really long time, and then, well, I had to get myself to write. That being said, there are some parts I'm really happy with in this chapter, and other things I was happy to finally get to set up. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter and it was worth the wait, do leave me a review to tell me how you feel about it, they help keeping me motivated more than you know!_

 _Dya._


	15. Chapter 15

Fifteen

Sitting around doing nothing wasn't good for Inuyasha's nerves. Sango seemed to be perfectly calm, but he could tell from the way her eyes darted all around them at the smallest sound that she was on edge, prepared for the worse. Perhaps it should have been reassuring, but all he could think about was what a strong opponent she'd be, in case he had to fight her. Yeah, they were helping them for now, but that didn't mean there was any trust there. Just that he'd do _anything_ if it meant he'd save Kagome — and the strength of that feeling was honestly scary to him.

"She's not dressed like a priestess," Sango commented after an eternity, without bothering to look at him.

"That's 'cause she's not a priestess."

She rose an eyebrow and this time turned very slightly towards him, not quite facing him but gauging his response.

"Even _I_ can feel the power coming from her, and it's far from being my specialty. Are you telling me you don't feel _anything_? What about the _kitsune_?"

Inuyasha glanced back at Shippo who was silent, waiting by Kagome's side, then briefly at Kagome. He realized he was feeling very self-conscious, now that they were around humans. He didn't want to hear mocking insinuations, didn't think he could stand having them say the same things the guards said about him and the princess. Talk about how pathetic he was for hoping for something, ask how he could even imagine someone as filthy as him would even be _looked at_ by someone like her.

But when he looked at her, all he saw was Kagome. In pain. Suffering. Hurt because he hadn't managed to protect her. He'd felt spiritual power before, he'd even seen her use it, but there was nothing like that now. She was just… Kagome.

He swallowed.

"She said she didn't feel in danger when she was around me," he said, voice rough, hoping he wasn't letting her see too much and bracing himself for a mocking reply.

"That might just be it then," she said instead, tone flat. "Spiritual power works in mysterious ways. If she doesn't want to hurt you, she might just be able not to. It's instinctive, from what I know. Same for the kid, I guess."

He nodded silently, throat suddenly tight. It was just like Kagome, wasn't it? Protecting and helping him without even knowing it. Sango watched his expression with interest. She despised the Queen's watchdogs and she had yet to determine whether or not he was one of them, but there seemed to be more to this story than what met the eye.

Miroku removed his hands from Kagome's head with a tired sigh, and Inuyasha jumped to his feet, but the monk only laid her down carefully.

"Why did you stop?" the half-demon growled, stepping in front of him threateningly.

"This is as much as I can do, I'm afraid," Miroku replied, trying to appease Sango, who clearly didn't appreciate Inuyasha's attitude, with a smile. "The rest is up to her. We just need to have faith."

"If she dies…"

"If she dies, nothing," Sango snapped. "We're doing our best here."

Maybe it was unfair from her, as the glance Miroku gave her indicated, but she didn't ponder on it, nor did she feel guilty for it. Death was a possibility, every step of the way. It was there. Always. The sooner people accepted it, the better.

Inuyasha pursed his lips in anger, and Miroku set a calming hand on her shoulder. He'd noticed, as he always seemed to notice, the way her grip on the Hiraikotsu had tightened.

"We should go and gather what we need to make a bow and arrow," he said with a soothing voice. "It would be better if she had something to channel her power into." He nodded politely at Inuyasha. "We'll leave her with you."

Inuyasha growled as an answer. He wasn't sure he liked the implications of the man's words. What, did he mean they were _entrusting_ her to him? Who the _hell_ did they think they were? He turned around to kneel by her side, rudely presenting his back to them. He pointedly ignored the way Sango rolled her eyes and how Miroku pulled her away. Shippo hesitated for a couple of seconds before stepping back. He didn't want to abandon Kagome, but even he could sense that Inuyasha needed a minute here.

When the clearing quieted, slowly, carefully, he reached out to run his clawed fingers through her hair. He'd thought about that for— a long time now. Touching her, knowing she wouldn't be horrified, and last night had made him think she… wouldn't be. He took off his _haori_ , draping her in it as carefully as he could. Wouldn't want her to get cold. Well that was, if—

He sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes. He couldn't think about it. Refused to imagine it. He couldn't— couldn't lose her. He'd never had someone like her in his life before. The closest would have been Kikyo, but Kagome was nothing like Kikyo. He didn't think there could be any replacing her, ever. She'd turned into the brightest light in his life and he couldn't see it go out.

"Kagome," he called out, voice raspy. He hadn't cried in years, hadn't even cried when his mother had died. But now? He was coming close to his breaking point. "You have to fight. _Please_. I can't—" What couldn't he do? He didn't expect her to stay by his side after this. Hell, he didn't expect her to _want_ to stay by his side. This wasn't what this was about. He just needed to know she was alive. "I can't do this if you're not here." If you're not around anymore. If there isn't at least one person in this world who I can think about and know she makes a difference. Know she's _better_.

Know she smiles. Know she's happy. Know she's bringing joy to those around her, because of fucking course she does. Know she's pushing through, day after day. Know she's still fighting.

"You can't give up on that, Kagome." His eyes were burning. "There's so much for ya out there. You _can't_ go. You're stronger than this." And now the lump in his throat was so big he could barely talk anymore.

 _You can't go because I love you_.

But even now, even when she couldn't hear him, he couldn't say it, because what kind of fucked up reason would that be? It didn't change anything. Not for her, not for him. She shouldn't want anything to do with him, and his life was sworn to someone else, even if he'd been doing a pretty terrible job at keeping that promise recently.

It didn't matter that he loved her, and maybe that was the worst part of it all. Admitting it to himself didn't change anything to who he was, to what he was, and to what they had together.

"It'll kill the kid if you go," he said instead. "And what 'bout your mother and brother? It'll break their heart. You need to keep fighting, Kagome. _Please_."

But she didn't move.

* * *

He stayed next to her for hours. Miroku and Sango returned, exchanging a meaningful look when they realized Kagome hadn't woken up, but he pretended he didn't see it. Who the fuck were they to condemn her? They didn't _know_ her. If anyone could do it, she would be the one who made it through.

They started working in silence, building the bow and the arrows. Miroku seemed to have a bunch of arrowheads on him, which Inuyasha deemed a bit strange, but then maybe it was a monk thing.

Kagome didn't wake up through the whole thing, nor when Shippo finally walked closer, curling himself up on her chest, both to bring her some heat and to try to pretend that she was here, that she was okay, that she wasn't in that horrible space between life and death and he couldn't do anything about it, just like he hadn't been able to do anything about his father and his mother before him.

Once they were done, Miroku set the arrows next to Kagome, watching her intently. Inuyasha didn't miss the change in his attitude and straightened himself. The world stopped for a couple of minutes, until the monk sighed, defeated, and turned around to sit by Sango's side.

And that's just when it happened.

It wasn't an impressive movement in any way, but she reached a trembling hand out, and closed it around the bow. Inuyasha immediately jumped to his feet, prepared to help her in any way she might need. Her face had been perfectly still for hours and it was now distorted with either pain or discomfort, which chilled him to his bones but still meant she was _there_. Alive.

Fighting.

Miroku and Sango might have missed it, if it wasn't for Inuyasha's reaction. They both stood still, watching as Kagome battled until, finally, she managed to open her eyes.

She tried to prop herself up, and Inuyasha moved to help her without a word, the gesture completely natural to him. He didn't even question it, despite the eyes watching them, didn't think about the way his hands lingered on her waist and shoulders, comforting her without even knowing it. He was displaying an intimacy that would have been inappropriate in the human world, and he didn't even notice it. It just felt… right.

"Inuyasha," she whimpered, hands tightening on his arms.

"'m here," he mumbled, voice low, not letting go of her as long as she needed him by her side. "You feeling okay?"

She nodded, very slowly. She felt better. She had managed to silence the voice in her head, though it wasn't completely gone yet, but there was more. The world… was different. Felt different. Full of life, and of something she couldn't quite identify, of— power, maybe. She could feel her own strength flowing around her, towards the bow and arrows, could feel at least two other connections to things around her, one going deep inside the forest, but the other much closer.

Her eyes landed on the black-haired monk and the tall demon slayer.

"You helped me," she commented, frowning. Her voice was thick and the words were coming out with difficulty, but she didn't feel weak anymore. Quite the contrary, in fact.

"Indeed," Miroku replied with a bright smile. "But it is always my pleasure to help someone quite a beautiful as—"

There was a loud smack, and Sango didn't even bother commenting. He could flirt with anyone, for all she cared, but girls who had just been brought back from the verge of death or had half-demons protectors who were clearly smitten with them should have been an obvious no-no.

And she wasn't jealous at all.

She took a step towards the girl and studied her, even as Inuyasha growled and shielded her with his body. She didn't blame him exactly, there had been tension between them since the beginning after all. The girl — Kagome — had bright eyes, and her power was even more obvious than before. None of that really mattered though. Instead, Sango looked at the way she touched Inuyasha. There was no disgust, no hatred. If anything, there was deep care there. Trust, even.

Huh. So maybe there was still some hope for the Kingdom.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked. She knew her voice sounded harsh, and for the first time in a long while, she wished she'd been able to use a kinder one. The girl didn't wince though, and she couldn't help but smile when she thought that she'd probably gotten used to it, if her half-demon companion was anything to go by.

"I am," Kagome replied, managing to smile. "Thank you."

"I didn't do much," Sango replied honestly, kneeling in front of her as Inuyasha reluctantly moved out of the way to let them talk, "and I'm afraid you're not quite safe yet, but…" She glanced at Miroku, who was dramatically massaging the back of his head. "You said she was the only one who could free herself."

Realizing he wouldn't be getting any sympathy from her, he dropped his hand and sighed. "Well, yes and no. She needs to follow the connection to her attacker herself, but then I suppose anyone could kill them."

Inuyasha growled, cracking his knuckles. "Then let's do this. Kagome, you feeling anything?"

Sango smirked at his words. They may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but she certainly liked the way his mind worked.

"He's right, isn't he?" she asked, glancing at Miroku. "The sooner the better. The longer the connection's there, the more energy it'll drain."

The monk hesitated, looking unsure for the first time. "Well, yes, but…"

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked, tensing up.

"I'm by no means a specialist when it comes to those connections," he replied slowly, "however I do fear it could be used to control her."

A chill went through Kagome. The voice had said something like that, hadn't she? _"_ _It's a miracle you haven't burned the half-breed yet, but don't worry. That time will come soon."_

"So what?" Inuyasha practically barked. "'s not like we have a choice if we want to save her, do we?"

"No," Miroku admitted, still looking uncomfortable. "No, I guess not. But there are risks—"

"Fuck risks," Inuyasha spat. "Kagome, can you feel anything?"

Her eyes darted towards the forest, and she shivered, with Inuyasha immediately tightening the _haori_ around her in response, arms around her. The warmth of his body seeped through the cloth and spread inside her. She took a deep, calming breath, letting herself relax a little in what was almost an embrace. Yes, she could. There was something there. It didn't feel like demonic energy, or rather not exactly. It was nothing like Shippo or Inuyasha, and it felt— it felt _disgusting_. Gross. Wrong.

"Yes," she said, swallowing with some difficulty. "Yes, but…"

She didn't want to die, obviously, however she also didn't want to hurt him, or even _risk_ hurting him.

"Then let's go," he said, interrupting her. He refused to waste any more time. They'd get rid of whoever was behind that, save Kagome, and _then_ he'd worry about the rest. "You can't feel it, monk?" he asked, calling out to Miroku.

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid not. If we don't take Lady Kagome with us, I doubt…"

Inuyasha ignored the rest of his sentence. "'m sorry, Kagome, but we really need to go. Feeling up for it?"

She smiled, weakly but with determination. She had concerns, of course, but right now, Inuyasha felt unstoppable, and she wanted to believe in him. She was _choosing_ to believe in him.

"Let's do this."

* * *

Kagome was fighting hard to remain conscious. Inuyasha was leaning forwards as he ran through the forest, doing his best so she wouldn't have to hold on to him too tightly. She'd wrapped her arms around him but they were loose, as she couldn't put any strength in the gesture. Her heart was beating loudly in her ears, but unlike previous times during their travel, it mostly had to do with fear. She also had to focus on the connection, on guiding him, and still, fight against the things in her head.

Miroku and the woman whose name she hadn't caught were following close by. The demon slayer had brought a whistle to her lips and a big, white catlike demon had come out of nowhere with fire under its paws, and they'd jumped on its back. The woman had attached a mask over her mouth, and Kagome had watched with interest. She'd noticed her eyes wrinkling, and she'd guessed she was smiling to her.

They seemed nice. She barely knew them, but so far they were probably the people who had been the nicest to them — or, well, to Inuyasha — since the beginning of their travel. Who'd have thought that it would be here, in the middle of the demon lands, that they would finally encounter some humanity?

"Inuyasha?" she called softly.

"Hm?"

"What that monk said, about her being able to control my body…"

"Yeah?"

"She said she'd use it to hurt you."

"Yeah." His voice was calm, probably calmer than she'd ever heard it. "I figured. When we stopped earlier today… You said you didn't want to hurt me."

Her arms tightened around him just a little, which was as much as she could do in her current state.

"I don't."

He knew that, and right now, that was the only thing that mattered to him. He wasn't feeling completely at ease, if he was honest. Despite what Sango had said earlier about her power, he could sense the bow and arrows. The energy was different there, not fully _hers_ anymore. He could only guess it was the point, but something told him that _that_ could hurt him. It wasn't all that important to him though. He wanted her to live. No matter what. Knowing that if anything happened there was no way she would have _wanted_ it to happen was enough for him.

"Don't worry 'bout it."

She sighed heavily. He didn't know what the world… felt like since she'd woken up. Not too long ago, she had no control whatsoever on her powers. She didn't really know how to use them still, but she could tell that she'd be _able_ to. And that terrified her.

"Hey, you're not blaming yourself, are ya? None of that shit's your fault."

No. But what happened next might very well be. Still, his attempt brought a sincere smile to her lips.

"Thanks, Inuyasha."

* * *

Sango watched the pair with attention, noticing the _kitsune'_ s tail but well-aware that those two were in their own little world at the moment.

"Her arrows…" she started.

"Dangerous," Miroku replied immediately, naturally completing her thought, something they'd achieved after years of working together in situations similar to this one. "You don't— They're basically _drenched_ in her power. Normally it would take much longer, but she's practically overflowing with it. She… might have a problem when they go back."

She let out a joyless chuckle. "Look at them. _They_ 'll have a problem. As long as they stay in Queen Kaede's kingdom, they're basically doomed."

"We could…" He didn't finish his sentence. Sango was the harsh leader, and he was the hopeless romantic — in love, by the way, with said harsh leader who would never have eyes for him.

But that was not how she felt this time. Sure, her opinion didn't have much to do with romance, however the village built by her ancestors had been made with exactly that type of situations in mind. So that people who couldn't be happy elsewhere would have a refuge. Still, she couldn't let just anyone in, nor give them the location of the village if she didn't trust them fully.

"I'll think about it," she mumbled thoughtfully.

For now though, they should be focusing on one thing and one thing only, and that was the fight ahead of them.

* * *

They slowed down abruptly when the trees disappeared. Inuyasha and Sango exchanged a silent look, instinctively recognizing one another as the leaders for the battle to come. They lingered in the forest for a few moments, hesitant to step into the grass.

"She's here," Kagome said with conviction. "Up there."

Sango gritted her teeth. They were facing a hill, on top of which they could vaguely see the shape of a house. This wasn't good. Whoever was in there would absolutely see them coming. They could probably feel Kagome anyway, but she still would have liked to keep _some_ element of surprise. On top of that, houses were rare in this land. And if you managed to preserve yours, it had to mean you were pretty strong.

Great. This was just great.

"I see," Miroku mumbled.

All eyes immediately darted to him.

"What is it, monk?" Inuyasha asked tensely.

"It's _Miroku_ ," Miroku replied with a glare, eliciting a smile from Kagome who could definitely see herself in that struggle. "Lady Kagome, I guess you can feel it too. The person up there… is a dark priestess."

Kagome nodded slowly. It made sense. She wouldn't have been able to put such a name on it, but now that he'd said the words, it felt completely obvious.

"Meaning?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Meaning a priestess who's given her soul to a demon in order to gain more powers," Sango answered with the same tone, certainly _not_ appreciating his attitude.

She missed Miroku's smile at seeing her getting defensive for him. Kagome, even in her state, did not.

"So?" Inuyasha insisted. "We still have a chance?"

Sango couldn't help but grin. He was infuriating, but once more, she definitely liked the way he thought.

"We do," she said seriously. "I've handled dark priestesses before. They're trickier than your average demon, but the good news is they don't really have spiritual powers anymore, so it's not like it's anything _more_ for you to worry about."

"Keh. Just gotta worry about destroying demons then? Piece of cake."

In theory, yeah. But in reality… Sango's eyes flew towards Kagome. She was doing her best, but the potential control of the priestess on her was a worry. They didn't know how strong she was, and realistically, without any training, she doubted she'd be able to do much. The blame wasn't on her obviously, but no matter what Miroku said about her strength, there was no way she'd be able to shoot an arrow efficiently at this point, which meant they couldn't count on her all that much, and yet she could still be a distraction from the fight.

She wasn't sure she liked those odds.

"Miroku, would you mind staying back with Kagome behind a barrier?" She sighed when Inuyasha started growling. "Oh _please_ , is this necessary? She needs protection, and we can't be doing both. A barrier is probably the best solution." _To protect her… and to protect us_ from _her_. "Are we good with that?"

She would have added something about how they couldn't afford to get distracted, but the truth was she didn't even fully trust _herself_ with that. She knew for sure that Miroku could handle himself, she'd seen him in action. Wouldn't stop her from worrying, though.

"You okay with that, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, glancing over his shoulder.

She gave him a tired smile. She was holding on, but she didn't know how long she could stay conscious — and she didn't know what would happen if she lost consciousness again. Staying behind did feel like a good idea.

"Sounds good to me," she said softly.

Inuyasha turned back towards Miroku and narrowed his eyes at him. The guy had helped them, sure, but to say that Inuyasha wasn't trusting by nature would have been an understatement. He certainly didn't want to entrust him with Kagome, but it didn't look like he had a choice.

"If anything happens to her…" Sango clicked her tongue, but he ignored her. "If anything happens to her _because of you_ , I will kill you."

"Ah, but I would never let harm happen to such a beau-"

Sango's elbow suddenly colliding with his gut interrupted him once more. "Don't worry about it. Miroku's capable."

Inuyasha's frown told her he wasn't convinced by that, but it wasn't like they had much of a choice.

"I'll be fine, Inuyasha," Kagome's voice whispered, and he closed his eyes. He wanted to believe that. He _needed_ to believe that so, so desperately.

"Yeah. I'll make sure of that."

* * *

They didn't bother trying to hide themselves as they charged towards the hovel. While Sango hadn't had much hope for the possibility of surprising whoever lived there, she still cursed silently to herself when she saw the silhouette standing before them. Okay, the sun had set down merely moments ago, but was it too much to ask for demons to _sleep_ sometimes?

The woman had long, white hair and bright red lips curved into a mocking smile. She'd clearly been expecting them. Her eyes immediately focused on Kagome and Inuyasha, and the half-demon protectively tightened his grip on the young woman.

"He did say a half-demon would probably try to bring the princess back," she commented, her voice deep and warm, matching her beautiful appearance.

"You work for Naraku," Inuyasha growled.

His adrenaline was spiking already, his claws itching with the need to fight. He set Kagome down just as Miroku and Sango jumped from the cat-demon. The monk wasted no time to get by their side, helping Kagome to the ground as her legs failed her. Just as Inuyasha stepped away, he rose the barrier, staff firmly planted in the ground.

"Naraku said I should bring him your _head_ ," the woman added matter-of-factly. "He didn't mention the others, but he'd certainly be happy to get a monk, a priestess and a demon slayer as well. The _kitsune_ will just be a bonus."

Shippo shrieked and jumped behind Sango. With Kagome behind the barrier, he recognized her as his best chance of survival. Not that he particularly thought she'd be stronger than Inuyasha. Just that she might actually want him to live.

She gently patted his head.

"Kirara, keep an eye on him," she ordered the cat-demon, who nodded in response.

When she spun around, she threw the Hiraikotsu. She hoped that would surprise her, even if just a little, but if it didn't it would at least cut the pleasantries short. She had no interest in hearing that stuff. Inuyasha understood her plan immediately and didn't miss the the opening she'd given him, running in the boomerang's wake. Even if she managed to avoid it or push it away, he'd follow right behind, and that might just give them the advantage.

The woman smiled.

Without a warning, dozens of demons started coming out of her eye, fodder for the Hiraikotsu, but slowing it down enough that it went back towards Sango before reaching the dark priestess. She caught it with a grunt. Inuyasha was abruptly stopped by a larger, doglike demon, who clearly worked on separating them. The thing was _huge_ , and though it wasn't particularly fast, it did a pretty good job of pushing him aside. His claws were proving to be useless against it. Not that they didn't make any damage, but definitely not enough to incapacitate it.

While the two of them were battling, the woman turned her eyes towards the monk and the priestess. A barrier? _Cute_.

Kagome's scream cut through the night, and Inuyasha's blood ran cold. He spun around, forgetting where he was for a second, and was right in time to avoid the arrow coming straight towards him. Behind him, the demon, about to attack the back he now presented to him was _obliterated_ by its power, and the dark priestess hissed in annoyance.

"Inuyasha," Kagome sobbed as her hand reached for another arrow. "You have to go."

Sango glanced back, still fighting off the small demons. What on Earth was Miroku waiting for to stop her?

Despite herself, her body froze for a second when she saw him laying on the ground. The moment of inattention earned her a cut, fortunately stopped in part by her armor. Kagome's arrow must have shattered the barrier, she reasoned, and the shock had probably knocked him out. He was fine. She needed to believe that for now — she'd take care of it after the fight. That was what her entire education had led to: prioritizing. Even if it killed her not to be able to check on him right this moment.

"Inuyasha," Kagome cried again as her trembling hands nocked another arrow and she took aim with a precision that couldn't possibly be her doing.

With a feral growl, the half-demon turned towards the dark priestess. _She_ was the one doing that. He just had to take _her_ out, and everything would be over. Next to him, Sango was finishing off the small demons with, he had to admit, a ferocity and a skill he didn't think he'd ever seen before. Pretty impressive, if you asked him.

The woman paled. Her stupid mistake had costed her the strongest of her demons, which threatened not only her chances to make it through the fight alive, but also her life after that. Naraku would have no use for her if her strength was gone, and you did _not_ want Naraku to lose interest in you.

Her eyes went back towards the young priestess, and she tensed. She'd let her guard down for only a second, and the little bitch had used it to drop the arrow. She'd also fallen back to the ground, and was now watching her with furious eyes. _Maybe_ she'd underestimated her a little, she conceded. She seemed to have a lot of fight left in her — but she _was_ untrained, right? She wouldn't be able to do anything.

Playing her final card, she threw her hand forward as a snake escaped from her sleeve. The half-demon and the demon slayer turned around to follow it in horror, both unable to catch it before it reached her, and Tsubaki smiled. She needed to disappear right this instant if she wanted to make it out alive, but she couldn't resist the urge to witness her triumph on this meddlesome group.

Kagome barely looked down at the white snake sliding towards her.

"You _bitch_ ," she growled in a way that would have made Inuyasha proud.

She _refused_ to go down like that. Not here, not now, not by _her_ hand. She'd taunted her for hours, _toyed_ with her, called her _weak_. Well, it was time to prove her that she _wasn't_.

She didn't think, instinct moving her hand as she used the bow to strike back.

The smile disappeared off Tsubaki's face, and there was nothing she could do when her own cursed hit her. She'd planned on using it for death, and her own lack of mercy was what cost her her life.

Inuyasha didn't worry about her any longer, jumping back to Kagome's side in two large leaps. Sango took the time to make sure the woman was dead before following him, rushing to Miroku.

"I'm fine," Kagome said, her voice surprisingly assured.

Checking for himself, Inuyasha realized that she was telling the truth. Her limbs weren't trembling anymore, and though she looked exhausted, she at least didn't seem ill anymore. He took her hands in his, gently.

"I'm sorry I shot you," she whispered.

"'s okay. I made it out alright."

"Yeah, but…"

"Kagome. I said it's okay. I know ya didn't mean to. 'm just…" Without thinking, he brought one of her hands to his lips, just briefly. "'m glad you're okay."

She had difficulties breathing now, and it had nothing to do with what had happened just before. The moment was intense, squeezing her heart in her chest in the most delicious way, but most most importantly, it was _theirs_. And she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

* * *

They settled around the campfire while Kagome treated Sango's injury. Miroku had offered, but she still felt pretty bad about the whole knocking him out thing, even if it wasn't technically her fault. The Queen's balm was slowly but surely declining, and she hoped she hadn't been too presumptuous in its use. Somehow, encountering someone who worked for Naraku only made it more real. They would be facing him soon.

"How far are we from Naraku's castle?" she asked while bandaging the demon slayer.

"Less than a week," Sango replied calmly.

She studied the young woman with attention. She had to admit, the stuff she'd pulled facing the dark priestess had impressed her. She didn't know much about spiritual powers — she was sensitive enough to it, but still couldn't use it — but she could have sworn that this wasn't something that you could just _do_ , if it was even taught. In her experience, the ability to follow your instincts was one of the most useful thing for battle, and she wouldn't have been surprised if that was what had mattered there. Which meant that giving her and the half-demon an invitation to join the village wouldn't be simply charitable. It could be _useful_. And that changed everything.

"So what are you, if you're not a priestess?"

She hoped she didn't sound too rude. She wasn't used to interactions with completely new people. Apart from the children and the very rare people who were brought in, her village was mostly sheltered.

"Oh." Kagome chuckled awkwardly. "A maid, actually. I work at the Queen's castle, but I was chosen to accompany Inuyasha."

Sango nodded, but couldn't help frowning. That made it sound like she was expendable, nothing more than— a currency. She didn't like it. Not that she was surprised, coming from people who could take children from their homes to turn them into soldiers.

"The two of you seem close," she commented.

There was a brief look of horror on Kagome's face before she softened, realizing Sango hadn't meant anything by it.

"We are," she replied quietly. "I think. It's kind of hard to tell with him but… But I'd like to think we are."

Sango shook her head, amused. Considering the displays of affection she'd just witnessed, she couldn't imagine how Kagome could _not_ think that. But then, maybe the half-demon found it better to pretend. She could understand that, particularly if they were to go back to the human lands after what would only be, in the end, a nice interlude.

The thought was still dancing in her head after they had eaten, when she watched him sit down next to her, almost touching, clearly watching over her for the night. It was obvious she was like a magnet for him, that he had to refrain himself from touching her every step of the way, and it was _unfair_. That could have been enough for her to extend a hand towards them.

But he was the princess's bodyguard. If _anything_ about the village came back to the royalty, he could doom them all, and she couldn't threaten the people who lived there. So as hard as it was, she needed to keep quiet. For now. And hopefully, he'd prove to her that there were things he held higher than the person who would sit on the throne.

* * *

 _LONG ENDNOTE INCOMING: All the action movie sentences in this chapter I swear… I hope you enjoyed this one! Congrats to people who had guessed it was Tsubaki! I know it's not necessarily a huge advancement on the general plot but it still felt necessary to me (yeah I got a review once saying my chapter was filler and now I feel the need to justify why they_ aren't _filler). I'm going to try and focus on this story because I want to finish it. Not that I'm annoyed with it, it's actually one of the stories I enjoy working on most, but I'd like to focus on other projects. So there are probably something between 5-10 chapters left, plus one epilogue, and after that there'll still be two NSFW bonus chapters that will take place between the last chapter and the epilogue. They won't be posted on this story though because changing the rating now might be annoying for people who don't want to see that, so I'll make a different story just for those, so either follow me if you don't want to miss them, or let me know and I'll shoot you a message when that happens! As always, please leave a review if you've enjoyed this chapter, they mean so so much to me. I also just wanted to thank you all. The support I've received for this story has been just wonderful and thank you for sticking with this for so long._

 _This time I'll hopefully_ actually _see you soon! (I'd like to get one chapter out before Inuvember since I doubt I'll be able to get much done for this story during it, but if I don't make it... yeah it's gonna take a while) Sorry about the long note, just wanted to check in with you about where we are in this story ^-^ (I'm pretty sure I've discussed it before but still aaah I just keep making this longer)_

 _Dya._


	16. Chapter 16

Sixteen

The silence weighing on the group was heavy and uncomfortable. It wasn't that Inuyasha spoke much more usually, because he didn't, and that wouldn't have worried Kagome on its own. Sitting on his back though, she couldn't possibly miss the way his ears flicked repeatedly towards their companions, nor the tension in his shoulders. He looked like he was ready to snap. It was somewhat confusing to her, and she stole a glance at Sango and Miroku, who were both riding the cat-demon, Kirara.

She had thought that the fight they had had together against the dark priestess was more than enough to prove that they were trustworthy allies, but apparently that hadn't been Inuyasha's reasoning. He hadn't said anything when they had suggested to travel together, considering they all had the same goal, but then he hadn't said much for the entire morning. She was starting to recognize a pattern now. Whenever he allowed himself to get close to someone, he seemed to shy away right after, putting more distance once again between them. After his attitude with her the day before, it shouldn't surprise her that he grew distant today.

Still, he hadn't pushed her away as strongly as he had done before this morning. Quite the contrary, in fact. There had barely been any words, sure, but there had also been so much more than that. He'd brushed against her time and time again, and it had seemed almost painful for him to tear himself away from her every time. His body was always leaning towards her, and the intensity of those moments made it almost hard for her to breathe. There was something deeply intimate, personal, about the space between them, and she found herself regretting strongly that they were not alone anymore. What could she do, though? Leaving Miroku and Sango would be stupid and diminish their chances of success.

But it definitely didn't make Inuyasha happy. In fact, when Sango called for a pause around noon, clearly not willing to hear any objections, his mood darkened so much Kagome started to fear an actual explosion.

"How are we supposed to get anything done if we stop all the time?" he growled, just loud enough for Sango to hear him.

The demon slayer shot him a murderous look, and Kagome and Miroku held their breath for a second, but she turned away only a second later, shaking her head.

"There are at least five days of travel left," she said, undoing a small package she'd been carrying on her back. "We need to maintain our energy, otherwise there's no point in trying anything."

Inuyasha scoffed, folding his arms, but he didn't escalate the situation — for now. Miroku and Kagome found themselves exchanging a worried look. They could already recognize themselves in each other, and their fiery partners were much more alike than they'd probably like to admit.

"Gonna hunt somethin'," Inuyasha announced to Kagome.

She opened her mouth to ask if he could provide for the two others, but he'd left before she could start talking. Probably on purpose, actually.

"Well he certainly is _interesting_ ," Sango commented mockingly.

It would have been easy for Kagome to join in with her. He'd riled her up so much, since the beginning of their journey, that she would have expected to jump on the occasion to complain about him. Instead, an immediate sense of protectiveness bloomed within her.

"Things have been stressful," she replied. "He's been under a lot of pressure since the princess was kidnapped."

Sango didn't miss the bitterness in her tone when she brought up the princess. She didn't care much for petty problems with the royalty, although she felt a natural inclination to supporting someone who actually worked based on her standards. However, she was trying to gauge whether or not she would give them informations about the village, and that was an opportunity she couldn't miss.

"They're close?" Miroku asked, right as she was about to talk. "That must be one scandal at the Queen's castle." He winked at Sango, and she smiled gratefully when she understood. She was a terrible liar, and there was no way she could have sounded genuinely interested in such gossip.

"It's not like that," Kagome said with an annoyed frown. The insinuation sent a pang of pain through her chest, but it wasn't the real problem. She hated the idea of Inuyasha being nothing more than a 'scandal' — _hated_ it. She knew there would be other problems, even if he was human, but the specific disgust for him specifically, as a half-demon, only infuriated her more and more. "She saved his life," she explained, throat tightening. "He's grateful."

She just didn't know _how_ grateful. Unbeknownst to her, that was the question that was also going through Sango's mind now. It could be a big deal. Particularly if he felt he needed to buy back his liberty, possibly by selling others. Before she could try to get any more details on that, though, Shippo had jumped in Kagome's lap, having firmly decided he wanted to get her attention since she hadn't given him nearly enough recently.

"You didn't wait for me to leave this morning," he complained with the most adorable pout. "I wanted to travel with you, Kagome!"

"Oh Shippo, I'm so sorry," she replied, ruffling his hair gently. He really made her think about Souta, she realized, and suddenly she found herself missing her brother dearly. She hugged the _kitsune_ against her gently. "How have you been feeling? Yesterday must have been hard for you."

If Inuyasha had been there, he would have scoffed at that. But he wasn't, so Shippo just enjoyed the moment while Sango and Miroku chuckled. They barely knew Kagome, and they could still tell that this was very much… well, _her_.

"Anyone want some dried meat?" Sango offered, already handing some portions to Miroku. "Demon meat," she added for Kagome. "You only need a little to feel satiated for several hours. Allows you to travel light."

"Thanks," she declined. "Inuyasha will be back soon with…"

Sango rose a hand, and Kagome interrupted herself. For one second, there was perfect silence in the forest. Before she could ask what was happening, before she even realized everything was way too calm, the trees behind them fell down, revealing an enormous demon. She had a surprisingly wide mouth, full of sharp teeth, and her naked chest looked like that of a human woman, but it wasn't what was most shocking about her. No, that would be the long — what was it even, a _tail_? — body beneath her stomach, looking very much like that of an insect, with countless legs attached to it.

 _Demon Centipede_ , Kagome understood, her grandfather's old stories flashing in her mind when she'd thought them long forgotten.

Sango didn't seem surprised. She took a bite from her meat while reaching for the Hiraikotsu, and started moving under Kagome's mesmerized eyes. The creature dove towards her, but she didn't wait around for it to hit her. Jumping into a tree, she started climbing it deftly, looking almost like she was running in it. The demon followed with a furious hiss. The sight of it climbing after her was terrifying, and Kagome finally got to her feet. She didn't know what she'd do, but she had to try _something_ , didn't she?

With a push, Sango threw herself back, away from the trunk, and time stopped, her suspended in the air, almost perfectly horizontal, as the jaws snapped, only inches away from her feet.

Then she brought down the Hiraikotsu. The Centipede had never stood a chance. She effectively severed it in half, landing back down elegantly while the body fell to the ground loudly. She threw a piece of meat to Miroku, who hadn't even moved.

"Impressive," he commented, and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, thanks for the help, monk."

"But you always look so beautiful when you're fighting, my dear," he smiled, blowing her a kiss. She glanced away, not quickly enough for Miroku or Kagome to miss her blush, and Miroku's smile widened.

"Sorry about that, by the way," she said, sitting back down next to Kagome. "The meat does tend to attract them when it's out in the open. I probably should have said something."

Shaken, Kagome glanced at the Centipede. She was under the impression its legs were still moving, and she half expected it to jump back up any second.

"I-It's fine," she stuttered. "That was, um, impressive."

"Yeah, so I've been told," Sango laughed, pushing back her hair, and all Kagome could do was stare. The fight had been impressive in how short it was, and in how efficient, how perfectly prepared she had been, but it was nothing compared to what she was doing now, in her eyes. Laughing it off, being able to go back so easily to— to _normalcy_.

Kagome could, of course, only imagine the hours of work that had been necessary to get there, and even then she probably was underestimating them. She didn't know about the practice until late into the night, how she'd begged her father to let her come with him for patrol, and how she'd been mocked for trying to measure up with the boys her age. Now, she was the most skilled slayer in the village, and there weren't many demons she wouldn't be able to defeat. That _was_ normal to her.

Inuyasha landed next to Kagome, his breathing heavy, and he knelt by her side to examine her. Once he was certain she was okay, he glanced at the dead demon, then at Sango and Miroku. The young woman was already standing back up.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" Inuyasha growled, clenching his fist and taking a threatening step towards her.

"An attack," Sango replied, unblinking. "We should get moving, actually. Might attract some more of those, and if it doesn't, the body definitely will. We'll eat what you caught tonight for dinner." With that, she threw some more pieces of meat in Kagome's direction, who managed to catch them. Shippo didn't wait any time before diving in.

"You endangered Kagome," Inuyasha snarled, flexing his claws.

Sango's hand tightened around the Hiraikotsu's strap while she put wrapped the rest of the meat in cloth and put it back into her bag.

"I handled this alone," she replied, voice dropping low. "Miroku could have helped, and your priestess is able to defend herself. She wasn't in danger even for a second."

Inuyasha inhaled sharply, air almost burning his lungs. He didn't recall ever being this furious before. Right now, he wanted _blood_. Not necessarily Sango's. It could be the demon's, it could even be his own for having let Kagome alone in such dangerous environment. He didn't care. He just needed—

Kagome grabbed his hand, pulling him back, and just like that, anger fled from him, replaced by relief. She was here. She was fine. He hadn't failed at protecting her _again_.

"I'm okay, Inuyasha," she said softly. "Really. Sango handled this."

"She'd _better_ ," he muttered, glancing back at the woman whose entire body was still tense, as if she didn't know yet whether or not he was a predator, but he lacked aggressiveness this time.

"I'm sorry," the demon slayer said sincerely, aware of the way he'd deflated. "I should have warned you, but there wasn't any real danger here."

"However, should there be some," Miroku interjected, "I wanted to renew my offer to help train Lady Kagome. Both to use her power and for archery. I'm not an expert myself in that domains, but I know the basics, and so does Sango. That might make you feel better, and it would certainly help her in many ways."

One of them being to conceal her power so she wouldn't get in trouble, if she went back to the Castle, but he didn't actually say that. He was not sure what their reactions would be, should he bring it up, and now didn't feel like the best time to have a conversation about Inuyasha's opinions on royalty. Sango's brief nod affirmed him.

Inuyasha glanced down at Kagome.

"Ya'd be okay with that?" he asked. "Might be good for ya, 'specially here. If ya have a problem with that pervert, I'll be right here."

Sango bursted out laughing at those words, and Miroku frowned.

"I'm not—"

"And if he makes one more comment on your appearance, I'll _rip_ his tongue out," Inuyasha added, letting it sound very much like a promise. "But if ya don't wanna, I'll be there."

"No, I think it's a good idea," Kagome nodded enthusiastically. "Everything's… different, since yesterday, and I want to understand it. I really appreciate you doing this, Miroku."

"I'm glad you do, but I'm not—"

"Let's get going," Sango interrupted him mischievously. "Inuyasha's probably what's keeping demons at bay, but it won't last forever. We really can't stay here any longer."

She jumped on Kirara's back, soon followed by Miroku, while Inuyasha knelt before Kagome. Shippo hesitated, before settling on joining Sango and Miroku. He would have liked to be with Kagome, but Inuyasha was being weird, and he didn't like it.

"You sure you're okay?" Inuyasha asked, glancing at Kagome over his shoulder.

"I am. Are _you_?"

"Keh. 's fine. Just ain't sure we can trust them yet." That, and plenty of other things, like how terrified he'd been he'd lost her even though he could smell her from afar and tell she wasn't hurt, or how he was coming to realize how much he cared of her, or how _tempting_ she smelled right now. And then, there was the whole thing with Kikyo, and after that, there was what would happen after. Having Kagome walk out of his life would devastate him. Sango and Miroku were the least of his worries.

But Kagome seemed to buy it, and even if she didn't, she tightened her arms around him, and that made the world look at least a little better. Just good enough for Inuyasha to keep going. Holding on to her tightly, he started running.

* * *

The next couple of days managed to both stay relatively calm and be possibly the worst since the beginning of the travel in Kagome's eyes — and her and Inuyasha had gone through pretty shitty times. On the one hand, they never got as close to a violent confrontation as they had after the encounter with the Centipede. On the other hand, things _definitely_ didn't get better. Inuyasha remained very defiant, which meant that the times when they were supposed to rest were spent in awkward silence, with Kagome vaguely attempting to lighten the mood, generally with little success.

She didn't enjoy it much. She was travelling on Inuyasha's back during the entire day, but that wasn't the best moment to talk. When they stopped, Miroku helped training her. She was progressing fast when it came to using her powers, as he'd commented. They were still on the basics, gathering and releasing it, and he doubted they'd have time to get into spells and various other ways to use it, but she was definitely surprising him. She was very intuitive in her actions. That meant she was often messy in her aim, but there was a lot of potential there, if you asked him.

Archery, however, was proving to be a lot more difficult, which wasn't exactly a surprise. She had trained a little as a kid, with her grandfather, but that was a long time ago. She wasn't starting from scratch, sure, however that didn't make hitting a target easier. Still, she managed to shoot her arrows, and that was more than Miroku could say of several other debutants he'd seen, including himself. He didn't have any illusions on her ability to use it when they would arrive at Naraku's castle, though, and that worried him.

So did the way Inuyasha watched him when he trained Kagome, actually. The half-demon would sometimes get away to hunt, but more often than not, he just sat down against a tree, eyes closed. An exterior observant would probably have thought he was sleeping, and so did Miroku, at first. Until the moment when he turned around and met the golden eyes, shining dangerously in the half-light of the end of the day.

Miroku merely blinked, and Inuyasha's eyes were closed again, but the message he'd sent was clear.

He was watching.

God, why did _everyone_ think he was a pervert? He didn't miss the way Sango watched him, either. In fact, the only one who didn't seem to be worried about him was Kagome, and frankly, he found that to be _offensive_.

"…and release."

The arrow gave a somewhat satisfying sound as it sunk in the tree. It wasn't a powerful shot by any means, and it wasn't at the center of it, but she had hit a target, and Miroku didn't want to downplay her achievement. He was trying to _help_ , not bring her down.

"That is a great job, Kagome," he congratulated her, patting her shoulder. "Why don't we…"

"Take a break," Sango offered, standing up. "I'm in drastic need of a bath, and I'm sure you could appreciate that too, won't you Kagome?"

The young priestess let out a breath of relief and dropped the bow to the ground. Her fingers ached, but mostly, _yes_ , a bath, that sounded like an _amazing_ idea.

"I would _love_ to."

Inuyasha scoffed from his spot, but didn't say anything. Not because nothing came to mind, but because, well, as much as it pained him to admit it, she would probably be safe with Sango. He could always hover around while she was taking a bath, but water dimmed scents. He didn't want to risk her getting injured, but he couldn't exactly be _around_ , so it was probably for the best.

"Can I…"

He managed to place his hand in front of Shippo's mouth before the kid could finish his sentence, and it resulted in a vague mumble as he held him in place. The runt had gotten him once, but not this time. If anything, this was some much deserved revenge.

"There's a hot spring pretty close," Inuyasha indicated. "Y'know where it is?"

Sango replied with a courteous nod, which was probably the most peaceful interaction they'd had since they'd met, and Inuyasha bit back some doubting remark. He'd seen her leave the camp, it would make sense that it was to look around, and it would _not_ make sense for her to lie about it. Probably. He couldn't think of a reason why she'd wanna hurt Kagome now. Of course, his instincts told him not to trust her in any way, and certainly not with the best thing in his life right now — ever —, but he was slowly learning not to listen to them all the time. So he begrudgingly let them go.

Miroku waited for approximatively five minutes before standing up and starting to whistle innocently, holding his hands behind his back as he started to walk in the same direction the girls had just gone in.

"The fuck d'ya think you're going?" Inuyasha asked, not moving from his spot yet. He'd rip out the man's eyes before he let him fucking peek at Kagome.

Miroku stopped in his tracks and sighed. Okay, _maybe_ he could see why people would think he was a pervert.

"My friend, don't take any offense in this, but it is not your Kagome that has my attention. I certainly would not…"

He could only squeak when Inuyasha lifted him up by the collar as a growl formed in his throat, almost too low to be audible for human ears. He wasn't even sure what part of the man's sentence had prompted him to react like that. Miroku bringing up Kagome at all, possibly, or maybe… Maybe it was him talking about 'his' Kagome.

And that was forcing him to go in a direction he'd refused to even consider.

"Shut up," he managed to articulate through clenched teeth. "She ain't mine."

He didn't have any right to claim her. In fact, if he pretended to care about her, if he said he did more than _care_ , he had to let her go. That was the only way to handle the situation. Even if it drove him insane, even if right now, his claws had pierced Miroku's robe and were digging into the skin of his own hand. He couldn't let himself even considering it.

Miroku let out a choked laugh and tightened his grip on an _ofuda_ he'd managed to find in his pocket, contemplating whether he should use it or not. Inuyasha looked angry, but he hadn't hurt him. Yet.

"Well you're certainly _hers_ ," he said, "and I can assure you, whether you've realized it or not— she's definitely yours."

For one second, he thought Inuyasha was going to effectively tear his throat out. Instead, after a final growl, the half-demon slowly released him, setting him back down on his feet, and the monk took in a long breath. That had been most rude. He might have been somewhat looking for it, he would admit that, but that didn't mean he deserved that violence.

Actually, Sango might not have agreed with him on that, but still, he found it to be very unfair. He would have complained, however Inuyasha wasn't even looking at him anymore, and Miroku realized he might have been insensitive. Not that he thought he was wrong in his assessment, because he didn't. He had eyes, and he knew what he had seen since he'd met the two. No, it was just that he tended to… forget. Forget that in the rest of the world, outside of this safe haven in which him, Sango, and others like them lived, half-demons and humans were not supposed to get along.

Inuyasha, however, couldn't forget, and that might explain the broken-hearted look on his face right now. He didn't even think about contradicting Miroku's words about being hers, though that should have been a reflex — he was supposed to be Kikyo's. He could only play the monk's words back in his mind.

"She's definitely yours."

That just made everything worse. Of course, Miroku could be wrong, of course he didn't know anything about them, he didn't know Kagome was the kindest person on Earth and that she didn't treat him any differently from others. Of course. But his words meant that he had to think about it. They meant that a future for them could be a possibility. They meant that Kagome and him could be together, that he could see her every day, that he wouldn't have to say goodbye to her because she would want to stay by his side.

If only he wasn't a half-demon.

 _If only he wasn't a half-demon_.

* * *

When Kagome and Sango came back, they found a silent Inuyasha and a pouting Miroku. The two women exchanged a confused glance. Sango could have taken a guess as to what had happened, knowing Miroku's… tendencies, but that wouldn't completely explain why Inuyasha looked so dark.

Kagome didn't hesitate for a second before walking towards him, and Sango had to give it to her, the girl had guts — or was absolutely insane. She, for one, wouldn't have walked up to him without Hiraikotsu ready for some action. Instead, she turned towards Miroku.

"What did you do this time?"

He had the decency of looking guilty.

"I think we should tell them where the village is," he replied.

Sango glared at him furiously and looked around to see if they had heard it, but of course their two companions weren't listening. Kagome had grabbed Inuyasha's hand, looking at the fading scar on his palm, and was chastising him, and he was rolling his eyes in annoyance, but he couldn't quite contain a grin. He obviously liked that she worried for him, that she cared about him.

They looked adorable, frankly.

"You don't think he'll betray us?" Sango asked.

Miroku shook his head. He had made up his mind on that issue at least.

"I think he'll do anything if it means he'll get to be with her."

Sango bit her lip. She wasn't entirely sure about that just yet. She did believe the two loved each other, but she also knew that loyalty could be a surprisingly strong thing. It didn't surprise her that it would be trumped by love in Miroku's mind, but unlike him, she was a leader. She knew that you can't always follow your heart. Sometimes, you have to do things that break you.

"And he'll never be with her if they're at the Castle," she finished absent-mindedly.

Miroku frowned in distaste, but nodded nonetheless. He hated everything about that. Hated what it meant about the way humans behaved at the moment, hated that Inuyasha had been treated in consequence his entire life. Hated that he would have been one of them if his father had not managed to get him away.

He wanted to protect them, he thought as Kagome took Inuyasha's other hand and shook her head in exasperation while the half-demon visibly struggled to contain his laugh. He wanted to be able to keep them safe, and he knew he couldn't do that, just like he hadn't been able to stop the woman he loved from going on this stupid revenge mission, only managing to join her in that quest.

He hated how powerless it made him feel.

Kagome laughed at something Inuyasha said, and the half-demon puffed his chest out smugly. The way he looked at her… Sango closed her eyes.

"I'll think about it, Miroku. Thanks for your input."

She couldn't sacrifice her village for two lovers, no matter how much she wanted them to be happy. She had to be _certain_. Could Inuyasha really be trusted?

* * *

Kagome managed to hold on until noon the next day. She told herself she had just gotten used to the way Inuyasha behaved with her when it was only the two of them, and that she couldn't expect that from him when others were around. She told herself that she should give him time. She told herself that she was just _imagining_ him being moody. She told herself that it was just the conversation she'd had with Sango that made her experience things differently.

" _I don't know about that princess, but I can tell you that he has it bad for you. The question is, how can you_ not _?_ "

Like Sango had any room to talk, with how oblivious she was to Miroku's attitude around her. She'd even argued that Miroku behaved like that with everyone, something Kagome _highly_ doubted. But— not the point. The point was that suddenly, Inuyasha's hands lingering on her, the way she caught him looking sometimes, the way he leaned towards her when they talked, all of it took a different meaning. And, yeah, she had thought about it before and dismissed it as wishful-thinking, but if someone else brought it up now, it could be that she was right… Right?

She could have sworn that Inuyasha behaved strangely since the night before. Maybe Miroku and him had talked, too, but she didn't see what the monk could have told him that had him behaving so distantly. Every time their eyes met, she could swear she saw hurt in his. Pain. And fear. When they stopped to eat, rather begrudgingly on Inuyasha's part since they were following the schedule Sango imposed, he moved away from her like he had burnt himself.

She had told herself she would stop trying to reach out when he so obviously didn't want her to, but apparently, she wasn't able to follow her own advice.

"Inuyasha, can I talk to you?"

He looked at her like he was expecting her to grow a second head, and she was expecting him to decline when Miroku chimed in.

"Is there something wrong?"

Inuyasha let out a growl, and tilted his head towards the forest, gesturing for Kagome to follow him.

Miroku shook his head as the two got away from the camp while Sango caught Shippo before he could run off after them, earning complaints from the _kitsune_ who felt that Kagome was definitely not giving him enough attention those days. The two exchanged a meaningful look, but didn't say anything. This, right now, would probably be a decisive moment.

* * *

"What's going on?" Inuyasha asked when he was sure they were out of earshot.

"I should be the one asking you that," Kagome replied, frowning. "Did something happen with Miroku yesterday? You've been behaving… strangely."

She didn't miss the way he tensed, and her frown deepened. So something _had_ happened. She would need to have a few _words_ with Miroku. She didn't know what it was that could have unsettled Inuyasha this much, but she refused to let it go unnoticed.

"Do you want me to talk to him? I can talk to him. He shouldn't…"

"How d'ya feel about me?"

The forest held its breath. Inuyasha watched as Kagome's jaw dropped. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to let it out like that, but he needed an answer, even if his heart was pounding like it wanted to get out of his chest, so loud in his ears that he could barely hear anything. If he didn't know, he would never be able to figure out what was the right thing to do. If she felt the same way he did, he'd told himself, he would have to push her away. He would have to make her understand that nothing would ever be possible between them, even if that meant making her believe in a lie. If she didn't, well, he'd have to hide his broken heart, but at least she would be okay. That was all he wanted.

Kagome blushed deeply and glanced away, mind running at a thousand miles a minute, trying to figure what to answer to him. Lie? Tell the truth? Her mouth kept closing and opening, and she nervously pushed her hair behind her ear, trying to gain some time. Somehow, her reaction told Inuyasha everything he needed to know. Quite frankly, the kiss should have made it obvious already, of course, and faced with it now, he had no idea how he could have been that fucking slow about it.

He knew what he had to do. Knew it. He'd thought about it. He'd planned it. _Forget it. Forget me. Let it go. Ain't gonna happen_.

Why wasn't anything coming out now?

"I…" Kagome started to stutter.

Inuyasha took a step towards her, and she looked up at him, freezing again. His gaze fell to her mouth, and he took another step. Their bodies were touching now, and he was vaguely aware that it was the first time that this happened under the sun. So far, their most intimate moments had happened during the darkest hours of the night, hidden from everyone. If this happened again, there'd be no pretending it had been a dream.

Inuyasha leaned in. His mouth found Kagome's like it was the most natural thing and it was like a dam had just broken. Her arms moved around him as passion took them both over and he didn't resist one bit when she puled him down towards her. The kiss was clumsy, his hands moving hesitantly from her shoulders to her back before settling on her hips, bringing her as close to him as he could, while she buried hers in his hair.

They couldn't get their fill of each other, enjoying something they had been denied for so long. Inuyasha growled in her mouth, nipping slightly at her lower lip, and he was rewarded by Kagome's delightful noise of surprise. They stumbled back until she was leaning against a tree, and Inuyasha couldn't hold a groan as her body arched against his. He did his best not to hurt her, but his hands were tightening on her almost despite himself. Fuck. _Fuck_.

He pulled away to catch his breath, and his clawed finger carefully ran down her cheek while he lost himself in her blue eyes. He loved her, he realized yet again. He wanted her. He needed her to be by his side for the rest of his life, and though it was impossible and he knew that, hope was in the air right now.

"Kagome…"

The way she looked at him almost had him on his knees. She _cared_.

"There ain't anything I can promise to you," he admitted, mumbling as his eyes fell down. He couldn't promise her his future, his time, he couldn't promise her his life. That wasn't his to give.

"I know," she said dejectedly. "Because of Kikyo."

No. _No_. He wanted to scream that she _didn't_ , that there was nothing like that with Kikyo, that she had changed his world in ways he had always thought were impossible, that he thought he had been born to meet her, but none of these words made it past his lips. Instead, he grabbed her hand in his and guided it to his heart. He watched the flash of realization on her face as she understood how fast it was beating for her. _Just_ for her.

"Ya have my heart," he managed to say. _You have my heart forever_.

She didn't say anything, just kissing him again, desperately, and he let her. They had nothing, but at least they would have this moment.

* * *

Sango and Miroku's faces were grim when the two came back, both trying very hard to act like nothing had happened. The demon slayer didn't want to burst their bubble. If anything, they deserved it, deserved to be happy for a little while, but strategically, she knew it would be better if they were informed. Even if that meant she had to be the asshole.

"We'll get there tomorrow," she said.

Suddenly any tension that had been relieved when the two were away exploded again in the clearing. Kagome's hands clenched around her bow, and Inuyasha's jaw tightened. Sango closed her eyes. She wasn't looking forward to battle. She never did. But when it was inevitable…

"Be ready."

* * *

 _Remember when I said I wanted to get this out before November? Yeah that didn't go as planned. Neither did Inuvember for that matter but oh well, the chapter is out now! I hope you've enjoyed this before we start getting into... well, heavier stuff. It's all downhill from here, I'm afraid. Please leave a review, let me know if you've enjoyed the chapter, it means the world to me! I have some stuff planned in the near future (Inu Secret Santa, Gajevy Day coming soon), but this story is now at the top of my priorities and I'll be working hard to complete it! Love you all,_

 _Dya._


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